Mega Man 2
by doctorwho29
Summary: Almost a year has passed since Dr. Wily attacked the city. Is peace here at last or will Mega Man be needed again?
1. Prolouge

**Hello Faithful Readers! Yes, it's finally happening, my novelization of Mega Man 2! I love this game so much, in fact it's the first video game I can remember playing. I hope I am able to doing it justice and having fun at the same time.**

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Prologue

The stars in the black sky twinkled magnificently while the city lights below tried to keep up. Cars clogged the streets and people pushed and shoved on the sidewalks. Individual faces and people could be vaguely discerned by the eyes of the robot standing high above. A small robot dressed in blue armor stalked along the edge of skyscraper's roof. He passed the point on the ramparts where his helmet sat and a gust of wind rustled his hair. He stopped, rested his hand on the helmet, and gazed up at the sky. He shivered and tensed as a star started moving but he relaxed a few seconds later.

"It's just a plane" the robot muttered to himself "Just a silly plane, not a flying saucer carrying a crazy guy. Get a hold of yourself Rock."

The robot known as both Rock and Mega Man shifted his eyes down to the city that he had helped save all those months ago. His friends were back at work in their right minds and had been joined by Oil Man and Time Man. It had taken some doing to get them to be trusted by the people again but life was finally winding back down to normal. Even the "Mega Man Mania" was beginning to die down and that thought made him smile. He was proud of how he had helped stop the dark plans of Dr. Wily but he wasn't very fond of the violence it had involved. He rolled his eyes as he remembered all of those publicity sparing matches that Mayor Dorado had organized.

"Oh well, the people enjoyed it, especially the kids. Kids are fun. Anyway, I think it's all over now. If Dr. Wily was going to do something; we'd have seen it by now most likely." He picked up his helmet and placed it on his head. The communicator inside it activated and he said "Do you read me Dr. Light?"

"Loud and clear, my boy."

"I'm ready to come home."

"I assume you're referring to the new system."

"Hey, now that you've got it working I might as well use it."

"See you in a moment then."

Mega Man took one last look at the city before his body began to glow a bright blue. His body was completely obscured by the luminosity and he rocketed upwards in a beam of blue light.


	2. A Quiet Afternoon

Chapter 1: A Quiet Afternoon

Thomas Light sighed softly as he stepped out of his car and crossed the street. He carried a bouquet of flowers in one hand and the other pushed open the familiar gate. The sun shone warm and gentle over the carefully mown grass and the well tended headstones. He strolled down the familiar path in an unhurried way and soon came upon a familiar spot. His eyes travelled down to the simple yet beautiful headstone of his late wife. He brushed the leaves and dust off of the stone and laid the flowers in their proper spot. He then settled down cross legged next to the grave and groaned softly.

"Oh Noel, it's amazing how stiff you can get working in a lab all day. I've simply got to pick my exercises back up someday. I'm sure Rock could help me but then again…it's a bit embarrassing and I don't know if I need to add karate to his list of skills. Then again Albert is still out there and…" he trailed off and watched a squirrel scurry past before speaking again. "Noel I don't know what to do sometimes. I miss you terribly especially since Albert seems to be gone for good. I told you last time the mess that Albert caused in the city and what almost came of it. Well, I honestly don't know what might have happened if Rock hadn't been there. You'd like Noel, him and his sister Roll. They are wonderful children…the children that we…that we..."

He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose very loudly. "I'm sorry, Noel. Every time I visit I fall to pieces. I just know how much you wanted children and I did as well. Now I have Rock and Roll and you're…life is so unfair isn't it, Noel. So cruel at times." He blew his nose again and his voice was steadier "Speaking of the children, Rock has removed his armor and doesn't call himself Mega Man. Roll sometimes jokes around with him using that name but he seems very keen to simply be Rock the little boy over Mega Man the warrior. He really is such a sweet little boy. I did keep the armor and the equipment though. I know Albert is weak right now but he's also missing and could try something again. Hopefully Mega Man won't be needed if anything does happen but, as you know, I always like to be prepared. The only thing I did was to reset the settings of the weapons and thus deleted the techniques he acquired in the unpleasantness of last time. Well those abilities probably would have faded a bit anyway over time; the equipment is still rather new and experimental. Oh but I'm babbling now my dear. Why don't we slow down and just enjoy this nice afternoon."

"This new invention is great" Roll exclaimed "Look how easily I can dust the light fixtures."

"Yeah but it causes a bit of a mess down here" her brother responded

"Oh dear, I didn't think of that. Well I'll deal with that in a minute."

Roll Light was standing on a small, round, red platform that was being held aloft by a set of propellers on the bottom. A number one printed on the side indicated its production number in the new "Support Item" series. While she cleaned above, the propeller was disturbing all sorts of things below: papers, dust, her brother's clothes and hair.

"Roll didn't Dr. Light also say that Item 1 was still a bit experimental? That it could…" suddenly the propeller cut out and Roll screamed as the platform crashed to the floor "…do that."

"Yes he did" she said through teeth gritted teeth as she clung to the chandelier.

"Ah, Roll, I don't think that's what's it's for."

"Ya think? Get me down from here!"

Rock began frantically looking around for a ladder or something but his search was quickly rendered moot as the entire chandelier was ripped from the ceiling and it and robot became joint victims of gravity. Rock's reflexes kicked in and he dove beneath her simultaneously shoving the Item aside and catching his sister.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I might could check for damages…"

"I'm fine! We are most definitly not about to play doctor."

"Oh right" said Rock suddenly looking embarrassed as Roll climbed off of him and pulled her skirt down into it's proper place. "I just thought you might be…"

"Rock, it was the ceiling not a skyscraper. That's your hobby."

"Yeah ok, ok, but…oh my gosh, the living room is a mess."

"Well then, let's get to work cleaning it up."

"That's going to be quite a bit of work. We don't know when Dr. Light is coming home."

"Then we'd better get started."

"Right!"

They worked hard and as a team. Rock put away the Item 1 and did a few minor repairs on it. He then turned his attention to fixing and reinstalling the chandelier as Roll dusted, swept, and vacuumed. The team work wasn't quite ideal however; at one point Roll rushed past with the vacuum cleaner and knocked her brother's ladder over. He flew across the room with a shout and somehow landed spread out on the couch.

Roll looked up and said "This is going to take forever if you lie around and make me do everything. Get up."

Rock swallowed his retort, smoothed the wrinkles out of his T-shirt, and resumed work. Soon the room was restored to his normal, clean state and not a moment too soon. As Rock was putting away his tools and Roll storing the furniture polish, they heard a car pulling into the garage. They smiled and tried to look innocent as their father entered the room.

"Uh oh, is there something I should know about?"

"I don't think so Dr. Light" Rock answered with an innocent shrug "Did you have a nice day?"

"As nice as could be expected; how was your day?"

"Oh it was nothing special" Roll responded "Just a quiet afternoon."


	3. The Ideals of OC Camp

**Hi Faithful Readers! I apologize for taking so long updating. The last month has been a bit busy and then I started focusing on a Christmas story for my family. Here I am with a peace offering: not just one chapter but two. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 2: The Ideals of O.C. Camp

"Well this is certainly my idea of a fun family event" Roll sarcastically quipped as she fluffed the couch pillows in a huff

"Now, now my dear I know it's not fun but we must keep up with current events" Dr. Light responded.

"Especially events like these" Rock added

"I get it" Roll said in a defensive tone "I didn't think everyone was going to gang up on me."

"We're doing no such thing" Dr. Light responded "I'm just trying to help you see the importance of this speech."

"Ok, then let's watch."

The family settled on the couch and turned on the TV to a preset channel. The screen displayed a podium behind which an aid stood making introductions. "Senator Camp, party favorite for the Presidential Office, has spent many hours preparing the speech he is about to deliver. He understands that many people disagree with his positions but he wants to assure you that he has the country's best interests at heart. And now ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I present Senator Oscar Camp."

Camp took the podium to much applause. He was a handsome, charismatic man who was indeed running well in the presidential campaign. However, his platform was built on a very controversial subject and he still had much of the country against him or at least not sure what to think. His aim tonight was to attempt to further solidify his ride to the top office.

"Thank you, thank you my friends, countrymen, and especially my " he smiled at his small joke before moving on "I have arranged this little TV special in order to clear the air about certain points of my beliefs. I don't feel that it is ever wise to beat about the bush and so I will cut right to the key issue. I am of course referring to robots and their rising place in society."

Sen. Camp cleared his throat, shuffled his notes a bit, and continued "Right now as I speak robots are out there doing jobs that belong to honest, flesh and blood men and women. They aid in police work, military maneuvers, factory jobs, and many other positions in the workforce. This is disturbing to me. Not only are we becoming slowly dependant on machines that can malfunction at any time but we are also allowing livelihoods to be stolen from real people who desperately need them. I don't believe this is healthy for either our country or our world. This, however, is not nearly as disturbing as the recent developments from Light Labs. The good doctor has manufactured and released into the world a set of robots that think and act like they are actually alive. Dr. Light and his sponsors even had the gall to dub these animatronics 'Robot Masters.'"

Rock and Roll shifted uncomfortably and their father placed a reassuring arm around each of them. His own face remained calm but a hard glint was growing in his eyes. Unseen by the Light family, a small mechanical bat was perched in the very lights that Roll had damaged not long ago. It silently moved to a better position and gazed down at the scene below. Miles and miles away, a computer screen displayed the footage being captured by the bat. It was one of many screens, each displaying something different but all of importance to the man sitting at the bank of monitors. The one right in front of the man was showing the same speech Dr. Light and his children were watching. He took a drink of coffee from a skull shaped much but the bitter taste was nothing compared to the bitterness he felt brewing inside.

"Oh go on, Senator. Just keep talking" the man snarled as his hand shook and he almost spilled coffee onto his skeleton patterned necktie.

Back on TV Camp was still delivering his speech. "Robot Masters; isn't that an interesting name ladies and gentlemen? Masters of what; that's my question. Dr. Light claims that the term is not to be taken too seriously as it simply refers to being master of a trade. He says we are to work alongside of these machines and learn from them. I'm going to tell you what I've learned: that they are dangerous. We are quickly approaching the one year anniversary of the attack on a certain city by a certain set of Robot Masters. They took an entire city council hostage and bent to the mad orders of an insane terrorist. This shows how truly dangerous robots with intelligence are. Even if they were honestly reprogrammed it was done rather easily and they then used their intellect for all sorts of violent crimes. The fact that there was no truly serious damage was simply a stroke of luck and evidence against my standpoint. Some, like my political rival Mr. Keiji, want to remind us that it was a robot that saved the day. This was a robot with powerful weapons and the ability to gain new weapons. What if Mega Man himself were to start acting in a, shall we say, irregular manner?"

Rock was stunned "Me dangerous? I simply tried to do the right thing under the circumstances…"

"You don't have to defend yourself to us" Roll cut in "You're a hero and that idiot can…"

"Roll I don't think I like that kind of talk."

"Do you not like the fact that I'm saying it or the fact that you want to?"

"Roll!"

"I'm sorry Dr. Light."

"Guys, let's just watch" Rock said somewhat miserably

"This is why my political platform has always been for the removal of these machines from our society. Our ancestors got along well enough without puppets that tried to act like humans. The Robot Masters at the very least must go if we are to be safe and happy. If my words sound harsh, I would remind my listeners that one of these intelligent weapons can actually slow down time itself. Sounds to me like a recipe for theft, kidnap, or even assassinations. These…things…that are capable of independent thought have once threatened innocent people and will do so again one day if we don't stop them. I have information that Dr. Light is not the only one conducting research in this area. Other scientists the world round are trying to unlock the secrets of such Artificial Intelligence. The experiments of Dr. Cossack of Russia are right up there with those of Light Labs if my information is correct. I am not speaking from ignorance; I have done my research well and have spoken with these scientists. In fact, my office is trying to arrange public debates with some of them. As for now, I hope and pray that this country, this world, will see what is happening and protect itself from the coming storm."

"I can't watch any more of this" Roll said as she stood up.

"He's not actually going to win the campaign, is he Dr. Light?" Rock asked as the scientist pushed record before switching off the TV

"I can't predict the future, my boy. He certainly doesn't have my vote but he does have many others. I'm afraid that this speech may buy him even more votes."

"What?" Roll screamed

"Humans are very easily swayed by men such as that and I'm afraid that many people still talk of the troubles that Albert caused."

"Are you going to debate him?" Rock asked as he remembered the phone calls and invitations they had received.

"I am heavily considering it. I am most interested in the idea of that panel discussion with Sen. Camp and Mr. Keiji being both involved and able to give their stories."

"Would you be the only scientist on the panel?" Roll wanted to know

"I'm not sure yet. The network is trying to gather as many voices as possible for a nice long live debate. I have had some brief correspondence with that Dr. Cossack, he might be there."

"Probably not" Rock countered "This whole thing is politically charged and he's not from our country."

"Fair point, Rock, that is indeed a fair point. I shall continue to think deeply over this invitation but I believe I will accept."

"We'll be there to support you" Roll said fiercely

"I wonder if we'll be allowed" responded Rock "We are, after all, robots."

"Oh just let them try and stop me" Roll added with a wicked gleam in her eye

"That doesn't sound like a good idea, my dear" Dr. Light said but he chuckled and added "Although I would like to see that particular scuffle. Come, let's find something more pleasant to do. Why don't we go do a bit of tinkering in the lab? Possibly we can come up with more support items since number one seems to be a success."

Rock and Roll exchanged secret guilty grins as they followed Dr. Light out of the room. Up above, the bat waited until the coast was clear before fluttering out of the window.


	4. A Live Event

Chapter 3: A Live Event

Rock and Roll were awed by all the hustle and bustle going on backstage at the network studio. Dr. Light had indeed accepted the invitation but it wasn't quite what he had expected. He was to be the one being interviewed by Sen. Camp and Mr. Keiji while a host/moderator was to be there in order to guide the event. Dr. Light had been slightly put out by the revelation but he was trying to be a good sport about it. His robotic children had been a subject of controversy but they were finally allowed to watch from backstage with security keeping an eye on them.

"Honestly, what do they expect us to do?" Roll asked her brother "Take everyone hostage or something?"

"Don't say things like that" Rock whispered urgently "The cops take certain things very seriously."

"Yes I know. For example, you can never shout theatre in a crowded fire."

"That's ri…you're weird Roll."

"But I'm funny" she smiled and her brother smiled back.

"I do hope I look alright" Roll said as a change of subject

"You really didn't have to get dressed up for backstage"

"Look who's talking, Mr. Bow Tie."

"Okay, you win"

At that moment, Dr. Light came rushing to them looking rather frazzled "I don't know why I agreed to this. I was only just now released by hair and makeup."

"You look great" Roll said while both twins giggled at the thought of their father being made up for the cameras

"I hope so. We're going to start very soon but I wanted to check on you."

"We're fine, go out there and knock up dead" Rock responded

"Now who's not watching his mouth" Roll asked

"Now you two…oh my I'm being paged. Wish me luck."

"Oh no" Rock said "You don't say that around stages, camera, or anything. The term is break a leg."

Dr. Light rolled his eyes with a smile and walked out to his seat. He was seated right between the two political rivals as a sort of buffer as well as the guest of honor. On his right sat Mr. Keiji, a business man in charge of a game company turned politician. He bowed respectfully as Dr. Light took his seat and the scientist bowed back.

"I'm pleased you could join us, Doctor."

"I just hope things go well for us, Keiji-san. Then again, I don't think I'm supposed to take sides."

"That seems impossible seeing as you brought your family. I hope I get to talk to them later."

The chat ended as Sen. Camp took his seat on the left and the host, talk show sensation Alex Letto, started things off. "Here we are live with three very special men" the host announced as he spread his arm toward his guests "Senator Camp, Mr. Keiji, and famous robot designer Dr. Light. Today's purpose is to have a nice discussion between these gentlemen as we try to get to the bottom of the current controversy around robots. I believe it's appropriate to first offer the floor to Dr. Light and allow him to get us started today."

"Thank you, Alex. I'm happy to be here today and I hope it can be a very productive time. For those who are not aware my name is Dr. Thomas Light and I am the primary creator of the Robot Master series that is causing such controversy. I would like to say that I am very sorry that this is an issue at all. I had dreamed of a world where robots and humans were living and working together in harmony to build a better world. My dream is that we can learn from them just as they learn from us. The Robot Masters were meant to be our guides into this new world. Even now they continue to go about their jobs and are harming nobody."

"They did cause harm a year ago in this very city" Camp cut in "As I have mentioned many times, there was almost untold damage to both life and property because of these wonderful workers of yours."

"That was not Dr. Light's fault" Mr. Keiji responded "That was because of the meddling of Dr. Wily. I have observed the Robot Masters in the field and am very impressed by what I see."

"And what is to stop Dr. Wily or anyone else for that matter from taking control of them again?"

Dr. Light answered "All eight of the Robot Masters have had extensive firewalls and anti-virus programs added to their primary programming in the intervening time. My children, Rock and Roll, have the same protection as will any future creations of Light Labs."

"You have just touched upon an interesting issue" Camp said "You referred to a pair of robots as your children? Is that not at all disturbing to you Dr?"

"I concede that ours is not a typical family. However, I will say this. I constructed and coded Rock and Roll with my own hands and they are in many ways exactly like a pair of children and I have grown much attached to them. They assist me in the lab and around the house but they also ask me questions, watch TV with me, play games, go for walks, and many other activities of a family. If I have come to regard them as children, then I don't see what the problem is."

"The problem is that they are not children, they are machines. Any personality they have is what you have programmed them with. They don't love you; they are only parroting the dictates of ones and zeros in their processing units."

"I'm afraid you're out of line with that statement, Senator" Alex interrupted "You also are not giving Mr. Keiji much chance to speak."

"Thank you, Alex" Mr. Keiji said "I am not an expert in advanced robotics but I believe that these Robot Masters, within parameters of course, are able to grow, learn, and expand their programming in astounding ways. They are even able to develop certain emotional responses, is that not true Doctor?"

"It is indeed. The AI in the Robot Masters is simply amazing. I myself am constantly surprised by the ways they are able to think and reason. I never expected their personalities to be this lifelike and I am very happy at my accidental success."

"You mentioned parameters" Camp responded "What if a scientist were to create a robot with those programming parameters set at evil? What if a dark Robot Master were to be created? How might they act, evolve and respond?"

Before anybody could answer this startling question, the entire studio shook. Security began rushing about trying to figure out what was going on but it soon became apparent as large hole was ripped into the studio roof. Nobody was hurt by the falling debris but everyone was very rattled. They were shaken even more as they gazed up through the hole and stared at a hovering mechanical dragon whose wings were beginning to disturb everyone, guest and audience alike, with very strong winds.

The dragon settled on the roof and the gale winds stopped. Its eyes projected a hologram of a very familiar face into empty space beneath the hole in the roof. The image of Dr. Wily grinned and asked "Is the camera's still running? Is everyone still here? Good! I want as wide an audience as possible as I register my opinion on the good Senator Oscar Clive Camp!"

"I am not ashamed of what I'm saying, Wily!" The Senator called out although he seemed unable to stand up.

Dr. Light was on his feet and he had been joined by his children "Albert, what is the meaning of this?"

"I just thought I'd drop in and have a chat with the very outspoken senator. I also thought I'd answer his most recent question although I don't know about the word evil. I'd like to introduce my new friends." A flash of bright light filled the room as eight teleport beams hit the floor. The light soon cleared to reveal eight cloaked figures of various sizes and shapes. "These are my own special Robot Masters. They are masters of combat!"


	5. The Gauntlet is Thrown

Chapter 4: The Gauntlet is Thrown

"Albert, there is no call for this" Dr. Light shouted as pandemonium reigned around them. The studio audience and crew was scrambling for the doors and pouring out like a human flood. The security detail had surrounded the three guests and the two robots but seemed at a loss as to what to do next. "This event was for the purpose of…"

"It was for the purpose of spinning your wheels in a way that might appease the bleeding heart masses but won't actually accomplish anything. Face it Thomas, Camp is winning and your words were not going to help. I, however, plan to take care of things."

"Is that a threat?" Sen. Camp exploded "Your machines may kill me but it will only prove that I'm right."

Before anything else could be said or done, one of the cloaks blew backwards as the robot inside it burst out of it in a red blur. Camp froze in fear as he realized a boomerang was being held to his throat by a robot that was almost as tall as he was. His upper body was encased in sleek, red armor as were his legs and arms. This material encased his head leaving only the face exposed. It was a human face except that both the eyes and the wicked grin were a bit larger than life. A sharp, yellow boomerang was attached to his forehead and it looked just as dangerous as the weapon being held at the senator's throat.

"You might want to shut up because that's not all I can do Campy. For example, you grunts can stop looking for your useless guns; I've already put them away for you."

Indeed the security guards were searching for not only their guns but every other weapon they had carried with them. A large cloaked figure at the front of the pack laughed and said in a deep voice "Just like you to brag when you had a bit of help from me, Speedy."

"I could have done it alone, you Show Stealing Stopwatch!"

"Quick Man, Flash Man calm down!" the projection of Wily's head said very sternly "Let's not get carried away just yet."

"Yes sir" the two robots muttered while the other six giggled

"Dr. Light" Sen. Camp said in a very low and frightened voice "You understand robots, please help me."

"He's not going to help anyone right now nor is his nice game making friend. However, I do want to say that you two are the only people in the world even close to having my respect right now."

"I am flattered I'm sure" Mr. Keiji muttered

"Now it seems that there is a lot of police movement in the area not to mention other emergency services, so I'll have to cut right to the point. My original idea was indeed to silence you Camp but then I had a simply delicious idea. My friends here pitted against Dr. Light's meddlesome child. This time there's no conquest or overall plan, just me proving my genius against the great hero."

"No!" Dr. Light shouted "He's not a warrior anymore, he's a little boy!"

"I can speak for myself Dr. Light" Rock said "Dr. Wily, isn't there any other way we can settle this?"

"Let me think…um…gee…well…NO! I have been in the shadows for far too long. It is time for Dr. Albert Wily to rise once again to his proper place and you boy, are sadly in my way. The people will never recognize my true worth and genius while they're still infatuated with you."

"Besides, you don't have a choice" Quick Man sniggered "Why do you think we staged this little appearance? Camp is coming with us."

Many voices shouted their protests but in a blink Sen. Camp and Quick Man were gone. Everyone looked around in confusion but Dr. Wily just laughed. He laughed even harder as the remaining robots disappeared in the blink of an eye. "That's just one of the many strokes of genius Mega Man will face as he fights my creations. I'd give him as many weapons as you can Thomas but it must be him alone for the senator's sake. I've already sent you all the necessary information needed to make the first move. We'll be waiting Thomas. Oh but there is one more thing. My friends can be a bit impatient and hot headed at times. I do hope that you don't leave them waiting too long. If they get bored, then it pains me to say that Camp may not be the only one in danger. Bye bye!"

The head disappeared and the yellow dragon took off with a burst of wind that further confused everything down below. The confusion was intense; guards and police alike were scouring the whole area for Sen. Camp. Dr. Light, his children and Mr. Keiji were being half escorted/half dragged from the building under armed guard. Rock was letting himself be carried along in this wild current of events. His thoughts were focused on Dr. Wily and what all had just happened so suddenly and so terribly. He had thought that things were finally becoming quiet again but here he was being forced back into battle and with such a high cost.

"Rock? Rock, please answer me."

"Huh? Oh I'm sorry Dr. Light. I was thinking."

"I'm not surprised, my boy. I can't imagine what must be going through your mind."

"Yeah. Where are we?"

"We're back in our hotel. Don't you remember coming here?"

"Yes, yes of course I do. I was just…lost in thought."

"That creep! Why couldn't he have just stayed in whatever sewer he crawled out of?" Roll was ranting

"Roll please, we're supposed to be packing. We're going home right away."

"Yeah we are" Rock said "I've got to get ready."

"I suppose you must. The entire situation is fraught with complications and I doubt we've seen even half of them yet. I don't know what Albert is truly capable of but I do know that Sen. Camp is in no immediate danger. A dead hostage is a useless one."

"That's true. I'm going to save him Dr. Light. I'll do everything I can. I may not like him but he doesn't deserve this."

Roll looked like she wanted to say something but it didn't take much work from her father to keep her quiet. "Spoken like a true hero Rock. Let's go home and see what there is to do."

"Yeah, let's go."


	6. Starting off with a Splash

Chapter 5: Starting off with a Splash

"Well, look at it this way" Roll was saying "it's not for another awful photo shoot."

Mega Man rolled his eyes as Dr. Light finished fitting him into his armor which had also been polished and tuned up. "Yes this is so much better"

"Actually it is, you may not like it very much but you're helping to save the world. Take some pride in that."

"I doubt the entire world is in danger" responded Dr. Light with very little conviction in his voice.

"Well whatever the real threat turns out to be, Mega Man is back in action" the blue robot said as he aimed his buster at a window in order to check his aim before lowering it again. "And I intend to do all I can to stop Dr. Wily and bring Sen. Camp home safely."

"Although that last one is not necessarily as high of a priority as the first" Roll said but added quickly "It was a joke Dr. Light, a joke."

"It wasn't a very nice one. Now let's finish checking out Albert's little gift"

"They moved to the main computer console of the lab and stared at the image on the screen. It was a touch screen that could be worked either directly or with a key board. It was a 3x3 grid of nine squares on a blue background. The center square was slightly darker than the others and it had a very stylized "Dr. W" in it. The other eight squares all contained pictures of robotic faces with Quick Man being displayed and labeled in the top right. The wheel continued clockwise in this order: Wood Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, Metal Man, Heat Man, Bubble Man, and Air Man. The faces were all very odd and interesting but Quick Man was the only one who extended at all beyond the confines of his square with the tip of this forehead boomerang.

"Well he does think highly of himself" Mega Man smirked as he studied the picture

"What is this?" Roll asked

"It seems to be a program that has integrated itself into our computer. I'm not entirely sure what its purpose is but I have a nasty suspicion."

"Maybe it tells us about the robots" Roll suggested "I'm kind of curious about this Bubble Man guy." She touched the corresponding square and suddenly the image of Bubble Man leapt out of his square as the other's faded. He stood and posed in the middle of the screen with only his name visible and moving stars in the background. At the same time, the teleport system fired up and Mega Man was bathed in the usual blue light. Roll gasped and said "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry."

That was the last thing her brother heard before being beamed right out of the lab. He was quickly aware of landing on a small platform. He screamed out of shock and disorientation as he saw the rest of his surroundings; his platform was one of several all positioned along a waterfall. They seemed to zig zag downwards in a sort of platform staircase and certain ones had what looked like giant frogs sitting on them.

"Dr. Light, Roll can you guys hear me?"

"Yes but not very well" his father's voice responded through the helmet radio "That was actually what I suspected would happen. Albert is very clever indeed."

"Yes let's praise the man who kidnapped my brother" Roll shouted

"Technically you pushed the button but I see your point. Rock, where are you? We're having a hard time pinpointing your position."

"I'm not entirely sure. It's a massive waterfall with a series of platforms heading down into the water below. Um, I am waterproof, right?"

"Yes you are but a waterfall doesn't give much information. I literally don't even know what country you're in. Wait, there's a faint signal from Africa. Oh no, it's the Great Waterfall where those new developments have been implemented"

"Not the hydro-electric power plant? The one designed to bring power to and revolutionize life in a whole region or even beyond?"

"Well you managed to sound just like the commercial but yes. Albert could harm a lot of people by shutting that place down. Be careful."

"Wait what about bringing him back and planning properly?" Roll's voice cut in

"What would be the point of that, Roll? Even if we managed to bring him back now, he'd just have to take on Bubble Man later and it seems obvious that we aren't going to get any more information about the robot without meeting him. Do you agree, Rock?"

"Yes sir I do. I'm going forward; it would be pointless and cowardly to do otherwise."

"Ok, ok I get it" Roll cut in "Just be sure to come back in one piece."

"Will do, Sis!"

Mega Man leapt to the next platform and was immediately croaked at by the large robotic frog sitting there. Before Mega Man could figure out what to do, it had opened its wide mouth and sprayed him with three regular sized frog-bots. As each one touched him, it released a powerful shock. He grabbed one but the other two leapt off of him and began to hop all over the tiny space while the big one sat there almost certainly making more little ones. The one in his hand shocked him again and Mega Man instinctively crushed it. The pain stopped as little bits and pieces fell from his palm.

"Dr. Wily has gotten creative this time I see. Well Ice Man had those penguins. Anyway, time to get to work."

Mega Man found it hard to keep up with the jumping frogs but finally managed to stomp on one and shoot the other. He felt no guilt because these things didn't seem to have any AI at all, just little puppets with pre-programmed commands to hurt him. As he was thinking this, the large frog spat out three new ones. "Oh really, you're going to be like that? Well then I'm going to be like this." He avoided the leaping small ones to the best of his ability while firing several buster shots right into the bloated amphibian causing it to explode. The children proved just as adept at dodging as the first generation but he thankfully they each took only one shot each.

"Good things robots can't get warts" Mega Man joked as he made his way down the waterfall and began to deal with a second large frog-bot. It took some patience but he was able to dispatch this green brood more quickly than the first set. This cycle continued a few more times before he finally found himself standing above the great lake the massive falls poured into. He stared down into a churning cauldron of water and mist that he knew helped generate part of the electricity created here. He also knew that it wasn't very likely that he'd be able to survive the drop into that bubbling, frothing mass of water without at least getting sucked into the machinery and ground up. There had to be another way.

"I think I know what to do. Dr. Light, can you read me?"

"Indeed I can."

"Didn't you tell me that one of the upgrades to my buster was the ability to summon the Support Item # 1?"

"Yes, I've made a few such platforms and you can summon them to your aid but they will automatically be recalled to the lab when their batteries start to fail."

"And we still haven't figured out the very limited batter issues. Oh well, I think I can make this work. Thanks Dr. Light."

"You're welcome but what are you planning to do?"

"Take a swim."

"You can't swim"

"Well that seems like a design flaw. I am at least taking a dip." He pointed his buster and concentrated. He fired a strange looking red energy that was instantly met by a teleport beam. The red helicopter-like platform hovered in space and rose very subtly as he looked at it. He jumped onto it and already found he was much closer to safety. He took aim further out and rather lower than before and jumped to meet the second platform. He summoned the third and final one just to be safe and jumped on it. He now felt he was low enough and far enough out to risk a jump.

"I know it's not quite the ocean but I can't resist. Here I go into the mysterious fathoms below."


	7. Battle in the Depths

Chapter 6: Battle in the Depths

Mega Man sank quickly towards the bottom of the lake. He could feel his mechanical body doing its best to compensate and become as buoyant as possible. His eyes also flickered between various vision settings until he could see reasonably well through the dark water around him. He gave a start as be became aware of strange devices all around him in the water. They floated more or less in place and he knew he was going to have to pass right through them. The closest he could come to describing them simply was to call them jellyfish but they were obviously not intended to evoke much of an animal feel. He could see the machinery in the round glass top and found himself thinking the word bomb.

"This is going to be a bit tricky" he muttered to himself. The words were blunted by their transmission through the water but they were nonetheless true.

He noticed a water bomb right beneath him and he had very little time to act. He spread his arms wide and then brought them together. The force of the motion propelled him backwards but more quickly than he would have liked. He had to very quickly change course again as he almost hit another bomb behind him. He adjusted slightly and was soon dropping straight downwards again. He pressed his arms to his side, brought his legs together and narrowly fell through a gap in a particularly large clump.

This odd dance continued until his feet found the bottom of the lake. He looked up and found that the mines were now floating slowly but surely downwards toward him. He groaned and began searching for correct way to go. Not very far away, back towards the great falls, a tunnel had been constructed. Whether it was a normal but alerted part of electric plant or an addition of Dr. Wily's he didn't know. He did know that the amount of minor enemies scattering the way gave indication that he should try to enter it. He started picking his way through the large, mechanical hermit crabs that rolled back and forth across his path with relative ease. One crab approached more quickly than the others and Mega Man instinctively fired upon it. This accomplished two things; first that its shell was knocked off and that it began rolling much faster. Mega Man jumped and felt himself shoot up through the water and almost collide with one of the floating mines.

"Bubble Man must be a firm believer in small but annoying minions" he thought to himself as he picked his way towards the tunnel. Suddenly a huge metal angler fish rose out of the mud and began to spit robotic shrimp the size of Mega Man himself. "I thought wrong"

He fired a rapid series of plasma shots toward the foremost shrimp and it was destroyed. The fish in turn released a replacement. While Mega Man was watching this, another shrimp floated near his feet and he jumped very carefully and deliberately over it. While afloat, he fired the strongest shot he could muster into the left eye of the fish and the eye cracked. Mega Man had suspected they'd be a weak point and he'd been proven right. Realizing that his enemies were closing in, he spun on the spot and fired with the intent of destroying, or at least stunning, as many as he could.

Seeing his plan create and opening, he took it and ran backwards and leapt upon a rock jutting from the muddy lake floor. The water mines were now close overhead and he knew he had a very small window of time. He took aim and fired repeatedly at not only the eyes of the fish but the glowing angler on its head. In short order, the combined effect shorted out the systems of the gilled robot and it exploded. Mega Man had a quick thought about pollution to the lake but pushed it aside and ran for the tunnel as quickly as the mud, water, and enemies would let him.

It took some time but he was soon inside the tunnel where he was instantly blinded. He shut his eyes tightly and dialed the vision settings back to normal. He opened them again and saw that the tunnel was well lit by small lamps hanging from the ceiling. He also noticed a complete lack of current in the tunnel. Neither this nor the lamps had been what he had expected so he was a bit off guard. Still there was no choice but to move forward so started walking.

The lack of current was explained when he reached a large, horizontally segmented gate that blocked the entire tunnel. A large "Dr. W" was painted in bright colors upon the gate and Mega Man rolled his eyes but found he was amused by the symbol.

"I suppose I should have expected it given Dr. Wily's ego. So how does this work? Do I just knock?" He put his hand forward and touched the gate. It instantly rolled upwards with surprising speed. The area beyond was dark and he couldn't make anything out "Ready or not, here I come" he said as he stepped through the gate and felt it slam shut behind him.

Lights powered up and the area was revealed to be a wide, square room with fishing nets made of thick rope covering the walls. Above him, Mega Man was not pleased to see a ceiling coated in lethal looking spikes. He knew they were just low enough that he would hit them if he jumped too high so he'd have to control his movements. This was easier said than done because the room was filled with the same lake water he'd been fighting against all along.

"How do you like my arena?" a voice bubbled in his ears

"It strikes me as simple yet effective, just like everything else you've thrown at me. You must be Bubble Man."

"And you must be my prey" the light, rippling voice returned. His green body was squat and plump with flippers instead of feet. He had a large red jewel on his chest and left arm had a buster instead of a hand. His head displayed no visible mouth with his ears being simple golden circles. His eyes were encased in a transparent shield similar to diver's goggles and a small, forward facing spout jutted from the top of his head.

"I'd really rather not fight you but I suppose I'm wasting my…well breath isn't the right word."

"Your soft hearted words are indeed wasted. I exist simply to destroy you and I shall delight in fulfilling that purpose. Bubble Lead!" As he spoke these final words a large bubble rapidly inflated and shot forth from the spout on his head. It sank as it moved, as if it somehow had weight, and seemed to roll towards its target. Mega Man was too confused and surprised to dodge and cried out as the bubble touched him. The water around him was momentarily discolored as a strange acid was dispelled from the popped projectile and damaged the blue robot.

"I never thought a bubble could pack such a punch."

"Are you impressed? In that case, have some more. Bubble Lead!"

This time a series of three bubbled was quickly formed and fired. Mega Man managed to dodge them and fired at his enemy. Bubble Man had already half leapt, half swam towards a nearby wall and latched onto the netting. He moved like a spider over the ropes as he fired more and more bubbles. These bounced toward their target in high leaps and Mega Man tried to roll beneath the one in the middle. He had forgotten he was underwater and his movements were miscalculated causing the bubble to brush his back and burst. He screamed and Bubble Man laughed.

"And in case you thought that was all I can do have some plasma." He scuttled across the netting like as three-legged crab while extending his buster and releasing shot after shot. Mega Man had to move carefully to avoid the rain of plasma bolts. He leapt over one particularly nasty looking energy projectile, took quick aim with his own buster, and fired on Bubble Man. The aquatic robot screamed and lost his grip on the netting. Both robots hit the ground and quickly resumed the exchange of buster shots with a few acid bubbles occasionally joining the mix.

Mega Man and Bubble Man struggled in this manner for a while before a break finally occurred in the fighting. The two opponents were injured and losing power. Bubble Man was back on the wall of nets while laughing quietly. "Do you know what, Mega Man? This is actually kind of fun. Don't get me wrong, I still plan to kill you but I must admit I'm enjoying this."

"The sport of battle is indeed thrilling" Mega Man conceded "but unlike you I don't want this to end in death."

"Tough kelp, Mega Man, I must do what I was built to do."

"Then we continue."

"Oh yes, especially if you want Camp to stay unharmed."

"If I surrender, will you let him go and promise not to hurt anyone else?" The blue bot asked in sudden hope.

"No" Bubble Man responded flatly and resolutely "My brothers and I exist to fight and that is the only way we want to see you defeated. On that note…Bubble Lead!"

Mega Man shot the bubble in front of him and it burst a safe distance away. His energy wasn't going to last forever and he knew that he had to end this soon one way or another. Fortunately, Bubble Man himself was running out of steam and both knew the end of the battle was near. Mega Man fired very carefully at Bubble Man's right hand causing his amphibious enemy to slip and fall to the floor. He growled in frustration and fired on Mega Man with some very large bubbles. Mega Man in turn jumped with too much power and rocketed up towards the spikes on the ceiling.

Bubble Man chuckled softly knowing that Mega Man, especially at his current power level, had made a fatal mistake. Therefore his eyes widened in shock when Mega Man fired upwards with gusto and thus was propelled back towards the floor with shocking speed. Bubble Man couldn't move and screamed as Mega Man's body slammed feet first into his head. Bubble Man crashed to the floor under his enemy's weight and felt the effects throughout his whole body. Mega Man quickly touched Bubble Man's buster, absorbed his weapon data, and then took aim for the final shot.

Bubble Man had enough time to say "Well played" before he was shut down by Mega Man's attack. Mega Man softly smiled his acknowledgment as he sent a message to Light Labs for a teleport home.


	8. Turning the Heat Up

Chapter 7: Turning the Heat Up

"Well that was quite an adventure" Dr. Light said as he checked his son for any damages

Rock was back in Light Labs sitting on a table while he drank deeply from a blue can with a large letter E. "Yes it was. I should probably learn how to swim someday. What is this called again?"

"It's an Energy Tank or, as Roll calls it, an E Tank."

"But it's a small can."

"It was originally designed as a small tank and it was only a bit of luck that helped it work in that size. Tank is simply a reference to the original design"

"Cool. Well I love it. I feel totally energized."

"That's the idea. Anyway, if you feel ready you probably should get right back into the thick of it."

"Still no sign of Senator Camp?"

"No, the police are looking everywhere as are all sorts of agencies. Albert has him hidden well and I think the only thing is to get through this little game quickly."

"You're right. I complain too much about not wanting to fight. No, I don't so much mind fighting anymore but I hate killing. It has to happen though. I won't complain anymore, I'll just do what has to be done and pray that it makes a positive difference."

"That is a very mature attitude Rock. Now let's see. You gained a water based attack so which one are you now best suited to fight?"

"The only clue we have is their names. I suppose Heat Man would be a nice guess. I mean water puts out fire."

"Ok. If you're sure, let's go for it."

Dr. Light touched the Heat Man icon and Mega Man felt the now familiar process of teleportation. When he had fully landed he was instantly aware of the overwhelming heat. The brick walls and the stone floors glowed a dull red in the hot atmosphere. The ceiling was blackened by smoke and the very air seemed to shimmer. The dull throb of heavy machinery pulsed thought the whole building and added to the foreboding feeling.

"Dr. Light? Can you hear me?"

"Not well but yes. You're signal is a bit faint."

"I'm not surprised. I'm in some kind of giant brick…oven."

"No you're not. You're in the experimental volcanic power plant in..." the radio flickered in and out but Mega Man got the gist.

"Another power plant; is this a running gag or something?"

"It seems like Albert has picked locations of both grandeur and importance. You can see the appeal to him."

"Yep I can. So now I get to go battle…magma…lovely."

"You seem to be in a storage area, possibly for the robots that work in this place."

"I don't see any robots at the moment but knowing Dr. Wily it won't be long. I just realized, Fire Man would be right at home in this place."

"Yes but our friends are rather busy at the moment with several other responsibilities such as cleaning up any damage Albert's robots cause and looking for Senator Camp. You must take on Albert's challenge but the other eight can do what they like. Unfortunately, they do keep running into little problems."

Roll's voice cut in "And you do keep running your mouth. I'm so sorry; did I say that out loud?"

"The accidental rudeness aside, Roll has a point. Now is the time for action. Go do your thing Ro…I mean Mega Man."

"Yes sir, Dr. Light!"

Mega Man now paid full attention to the long, low room he was in. Some of the lights were out, creating lots of shadows, but upon further inspection it was a combination storage room and robot barrack. A few obviously broken robots were still in their rest stations. Their bodies were tall and very thin with spindly arms. This body stood on a round flat base with a set of helicopter blades on the top. They seemed to have a purely practical design for these extreme conditions: they could stand solidly to do work on the ground or hover over the magma.

"Neat, sadly they're nothing on Fire Man but neat."

Mega Man's musings were cut off by a crash behind him. He turned and saw that a fully operational magma worker had landed behind him with a very heavy thud. The blades on it's head were still whirling and it was primed for takeoff.

"Hello Mega Man" a voice on the deeper end of the vocal scale intoned. If Mega Man didn't know better, he'd say the speaker was a chubby jolly personality "I'm Heat Man. Well not this body you're looking at, he's sadly just a drone with no voice or personality but the silver lining is that I can direct them all the more easily in their fight against you."

"You guys say you're purpose is to fight me but you go through all of these theatrics. Then again, it was like that when Wily attacked the city a year ago. Except for Cut Man, I wonder what he would have come up with."

"Your sister was right; you guys do talk too much."

"You listened to our …oh I'm not even going to bother. So what should I do now?"

"I'd say you should move!"

Mega Man did so right as another worker drone plopped heavily right where he had been standing. Heat Man spoke no more instead simply letting the drones rise together for another attack. Mega Man walked quickly backwards keeping his eye on the twin menaces that, despite their appearance, had quite a heavy landing. This meant that he did not see the hole in the floor behind him and he fell right into it.

Landing painfully on a searing hot catwalk, Mega Man quickly recovered and moved away from the hole in case a drone decided to drop in on him. He was in a brick tunnel through which lava flowed beneath him. All along the walls he could see little outlets where more lava poured into the tunnel. While wondering which way to follow the tunnel his answer came for him. Not only did one of the red drones indeed follow him down but the little lava tubes in the walls were starting to disgorge small flying robots. They seemed to Mega Man at first glance to be large silver hamburgers with eyes in the middle. Of course, this was a very crude description but more detail was difficult to gather as they spun while traveling through the air.

As everything was coming from him from behind, he ran forward a little ways with the flow of the lava so as to have a clear shot. However, he underestimated the quickness of the drone and it was instantly behind him again. He leapt backwards and began to fire plasma all over its body. It was in the air again, damaged but sadly operational, and Mega Man ran for it. The air behind him was now thick with the little silver enemies and he knew he had to do something quickly.

He dodged backwards this time and let the drone land in front of him. He fired directly into the spinning propellers and they shattered leaving the thing earthbound. Now it was simple to finish it off. Unfortunately, he had also come to a wide gap in the cat walk and there seemed no way to jump or otherwise cross it. He turned and began to fire upon the silver "hamburgers". The good news was that they died very quickly once Mega Man could get a clear shot. The bad news was that there were now so many of them that at least some of them would reach him before he could reach them. The even worse news was that Mega Man heard a faintly familiar electronic buzz behind him that caused him to flash back to the battle with Ice Man.

He recalled Wily's nano technology (at least Dr. Light assumed that's what it was) being used to make hovering blocks that could disappear and reappear in a set pattern. Mega Man had been forced to climb these blocks up to Ice Man in exactly the right order and timing or else the block would vanish beneath him. He turned and winced as he saw a set of very similar blocks forming a bridge across the gap and already vanishing.

These blocks actually had a very simple pattern and Mega Man found it actually wasn't that difficult to cross the gap. He shot a few more of his spinning friends and ran down the scorching tunnel. He had more mishaps with vanishing blocks like gaps to cross or even barriers to climb over. Mega Man actually could have climbed these himself and the blocks were actually a hindrance rather than a helpful ladder. Finally, he came to a sight that made him freeze in place. The catwalk simply stopped but the lava filled tunnel did not. He could make out the end of the tunnel in the distance where the lava poured right over the edge but there was no visible way to reach the tunnel. His jaw practically fell off when he saw how he was meant to proceed: a long string of vanishing blocks were coming in and out of existence with horrifying quickness. He'd have to jump very quickly and very precisely or face certain death with no room for error.

"No, no, no! I refuse! I reject this reality!"

However, reality had other ideas and the blocks kept right on blinking before him and the small but painful robots kept spinning behind him.


	9. Of Blocks and Bubbles

Chapter 8: Of Blocks and Bubbles

Mega Man screwed up his courage and leapt onto the first of the vanishing blocks. He immediately made another jump. This was followed by another quick leap with yet another one after that. Mega Man felt some of his anxiety ebb away. True this was still a dangerous and nerve-racking operation but he was setting pace very nicely. If he could keep this up then it probably wouldn't be as bad as he initially thought. Of course, there were the aerial enemies closing in behind him and thus threatening to break his concentration.

While he was contemplating all of this, his pace began to subtly quicken. He jumped a touch too soon and almost missed the next block. He struggled to regain his balance and jumped without thinking. The next block disappeared while he was still in the air. His mind raced; he knew that he wouldn't survive contact with the lava. Indeed, his systems were already having trouble due to the prolonged proximity to it. He had reached the top of his arch and would fall much faster than the block would reappear. In sudden desperation, he thrust his buster forward and thought "Item 1" with all of his might.

"Thank goodness for lighting quick computerized brains" Mega Man said as he lay sprawled across the surface of the hovering disc. "Oh hello, floating silver enemy things that are now dangerously close. I'm afraid I have to hurt you now."

He fired a series of plasma shots at the spinning discs but many were still getting through. He was also hovering rather close the tunnel's ceiling. He peered over the edge of the Item 1 and took his chance. He simultaneously jumped and sent the Item back home. To his intense relief, he had calculated the jump properly and was now traveling by vanishing block once again. He continued the deadly trek with much more care than before, trying not to think about it as he approached the end of the tunnel. Here the lava poured like a waterfall out of this and other tunnels into some sort of reservoir below. Mega Man wasn't very familiar with how this place worked but he did know that he'd find nothing to aid his survival down there.

This time it was his hesitation at the edge rather than his speed that tripped him up. He had to quickly summon another Item 1 which allowed him more time to contemplate his predicament. The platforms lasted longer than the blocks but his every source of solid ground was so temporal.

"The old me would be appalled at this but why I can't I just fight the Robot Masters and have it over with? Wait a minute, I have a good idea."

Just as he had over the African lake, he generated as many Item platforms as he could spaced as far apart as possible. He jumped across the makeshift path and recalled the platforms behind him. Fortunately, a vanishing block appeared beneath him and he jumped. He jumped a few blocks before generating another Item 1 and repeating the process. In this manner, it didn't take very long to reach the tunnel on the far side of the deep reservoir. He collapsed into this lava free space and knew that he couldn't possibly summon anymore Items.

He gathered his wits and strolled down the tunnel. There were a few side tunnels dotted here and there making it difficult to know where to go. However, his confusion soon cleared up as he peered down one particular side passage and found a "Dr. W" gate just like with Bubble Man.

"So there is a good thing about that man's ego after all." He touched the gate and passed through the resulting opening to see he was in yet another tunnel. This was probably the largest one yet but Mega Man suspected that this area was somehow sealed off.

"Oh goody you made it. Well, actually it would have been funny to see you fall into a pit of lava. Wow, it's hot in here."

Mega Man looked for the source of the voice and found Heat Man leaning against a wall fanning his face. The little picture on the computer had shown only the face but that was all there really was to see. Apart from his arms and legs, his entire body was encased in what looked like a giant orange Zippo cigarette lighter. If the top of the "lighter" were closed then even his round head would be concealed. He did seem distressed by the heat which was very surprising considering his name and chosen battle field.

"Um, are you ok?"

"Oh yeah I'm fine. I'll be able to fight you in a minute. Dr. Wily is a genius but even he has to cut corners sometimes. Take me for example, I'm awesome but sometimes get a bit overheated."

"And you said I talk too much."

"I was just answering your question. I mean I do plan to kill you so I figured a little politeness was the least I owed you. Ok, let's do this!"

The lid of his casing slammed shut and he struck a pose that suggested an anime character powering up their aura. Mega Man was surprised when it seemed to work; he was suddenly engulfed in flames. They grew hotter and more intense before seemingly exploding and launching Heat Man forward like a rocket. Mega Man screamed as he was bowled over the flaming robot. Heat Man landed with shocking precision and spun to face his injured opponent.

"And for my next trick, I shall produce some Atomic Fire!"

He hurled a trio of fireballs at the still stunned Mega Man. He managed to roll away as one landed right near him but the troubles weren't over yet. As each fireball hit the floor, it transformed into a wall of flame that trapped Mega Man in place. By the time the walls of fire had receded, Heat Man had already charged back up and was flying back down the tunnel. The only thing Mega Man had time to do was to lie as flat as possible on the tunnel floor. Heat Man sailed over him but Mega Man still winced from the fire radiating off of him.

He knew he had to act quickly before the next atomic fire trapped him or worse. As Heat Man landed, Mega Man took aim and fired of a large Bubble Lead. The watery yet acidic projectile rolled swiftly across the floor and managed to reach Heat Man while he was turning around to attack.

"Ouchy, that hurts! However, the lower temperatures almost make it worth it."

"Then have some more; Bubble Lead!"

"I said almost, you jerk."

He avoided injury by sealing himself inside the orange casing which would surely protect from his plasma bolts if it could shield fire. Mega Man would have to strike when the lid was open. He climbed to his feet and jumped to the side as his enemy soared past him. The blue robot spun and fired a series of bubbles. Heat Man screamed comically as his lid opened and he saw them coming. He managed to close himself off from most of them but the bubble in the lead had reached him in time. Mega Man couldn't help but giggle as he heard a series of muffled curses come from inside the metal box.

"This is not how I planned it!" Heat Man raged "Dr. Wily designed me to be unbeatable. Trap and strike, trap and strike, strike and trap!"

"One obvious problem is that you share your creator's love for grandeur. You picked too large of a tunnel which allows me room to dodge you and prepare."

"Shut up!" He then said to himself "Calm down Heat Man, stop getting overheated."

"And pay attention to what I'm doing."

Heat Man looked up and got a plasma bolt right to the face. He screamed and held out his hands. Mega Man was momentarily distracted as his enemy created the largest fireball yet and screamed "Atomic Fire!"

The shots, as well as the walls of flame, were enormous and deadly in intensity. Mega Man's vision actually blurred and he found himself wishing that he had a protective shell like Heat Man. The blue paint on his armor sizzled and melted and Mega Man knew that very armor was all that was keeping him from doing the same.

"Now that's what I call grandeur! Take some more why don't you." Another super charged atomic fire blazed around Mega Man and the blue hero screamed in pain and disorientation. He barely made out Heat Man hurling himself at him through the dancing flames. The dark robot master was surrounded by his biggest fireball yet and Mega Man almost lost function as he was knocked to the ground.

"Oh yeah, victory to…whoa…I feel kind of dizzy. I need to cool off."

He retreated into his shell and Mega Man had a moment in which he was able to gather himself back up. He staggered into standing position and forced himself to move forward. He had one shot at this; already he had to divert energy to his buster that was vitally needed elsewhere. In just a few attacks, Heat Man had reduced him to a half dead, scorched mess. The only thing that was allowing him any hope of victory was Heat Man's weakness to his own heat.

"Ok, now to finish…you." Heat Man's eyes bugged to their full size as he lifted the lid of the metal shell to see a buster facing him point blank.

"Bubble Lead!"

Heat Man screamed and then collapsed to the ground as the acidic bubble corroded his systems more effectively than the others had. Mega Man collapsed next to him and said "You're good, truly you are. In fact, you're much stronger than me. I wouldn't have won if Wily had been able to do the job properly."

Heat Man used the last of his energy to smile before shutting down. Mega Man touched his hand and absorbed the data for Atomic Fire. "Dr. Light" he said into the radio "I think I could stand a few minor repairs" He didn't even hear his father's response. He simply chuckled at his own joke and passed out so that the tiny bit of power left could keep him active.


	10. Into the Woods

**Hello Faithful Readers. I figured it was time to leave another one of my charming notes. I am happy to have finally picked up the writing pace again, at least somewhat. I did deliberately slow down over Easter to work on another story and I do have other projects that I'm playing around with. However, I am liking my new ideas for the story even if they are revealing themselves to me very slowly. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the longest chapter yet of Mega Man 2.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Into the Woods

"These new robots are something else! You don't know how worried I was when you teleported here in that state."

"I'm all better now though, or near enough, and it's all thanks to you Dr. Light."

"Just finish drinking that Energy Tank and we'll figure out what to do next."

"We find someone else to do the fighting, that's what" Roll said "That guy was tough. I honestly think you just got lucky with Bubble Man."

"Well thanks for the vote of confidence" Mega Man muttered as he sipped his E Tank.

"Oh you know what I mean. I worry that's all."

"Thanks Roll, that means a lot to me. Sadly we have no choice. That is unless we've found something about Sen. Camp?"

Dr. Light shook his head and answered "Nothing. Everyone from the police to our robot friends are searching but we really have no idea where to look. Sen. Camp has no family and few friends."

"They wouldn't be of help anyway" Mega Man mused "Dr. Wily will hardly do anything expected or easily traceable. Anyway" he set down the empty can and jumped off the lab table "Until something does turn up, I've got another fight ahead of me. I wonder if this is what it's like to be a soldier. Oh my, is that what I am?"

"You…you…" Dr. Light stammered but Mega Man ran to the computer to try to decide what to do next.

"Ok, ok, ok, I've got to think. I have two weapons now and Heat Man had a major flaw. I wonder if any of the others do." His eyes fell upon the name Wood Man. "Yeah, seems like as good a strategy as any. Okay guys, wish me luck. I think I'm going to need it." He pressed the tiny icon of Wood Man and vanished in a flash of blue light.

Dr. Light simply sighed and said a silent prayer for his robotic child.

Mega Man touched down in a large forest. The trees were tall and ancient with soft green light pouring through high branches. The birds twittered all around him and he was confused at first. He could see nothing that seemed menacing or evil or showed him a direction to go. He turned in all directions and it looked like a regular forest.

"Ok, this is actually a little bit creepy. What am I supposed to do?"

He began to slowly walk forward always tensed for an attack. He heard something move in the bushes and he spun ready to attack. He heard it again in a different spot and spun around with his buster at the ready and found himself aiming right at a nervous rabbit.

"Note to Rock" he muttered to himself "Bunnies are not the enemy."

Suddenly, he was thrown painfully forward by an exploding projectile striking him hard in the back. He recovered and turned around to see an odd robot behind him. It was a purple, toy-like rabbit robot. It cocked its head and it's already slightly mad eyes became even creepier. It's mouth opened and a carrot poked out. It then proceeded to fire itself at Mega Man like a bullet and he rolled to the side so as to not take the full brunt of the explosion.

"I was wrong. Bunnies are evil."

He dodged another exploding carrot and fired a plasma shot. The rabbit's head blew off and the purple body rolled over. Mega Man stood but was instantly knocked off balance by a large mechanical bat ramming right into his head. He found he was surrounded by the flying menaces and all around him more purple rabbits were hoping out of the foliage. Mega Man didn't know where to turn and ended up firing wildly in all directions. Sometimes the shots connected and other times they didn't.

"I need to get out of here…there!"

He ran through a gap in the robotic animals and tried to put some distance between him and the woodland army. Unfortunately, the bats were very good at swarming at speed and the rabbits weren't far behind. Mega Man swatted at the bats and felt the carrots exploding around him. In desperation, he spun on the spot and released an Atomic Fire. The three fireballs expanded quickly in the swarm of robots and roasted them. The ones who escaped the blaze were easy to pick off with his buster.

Sadly, this also ignited the surrounding grass and shrubbery. He quickly switched to Bubble Lead and hoped for the best. He was very relieved when the bubbles started to extinguish the flames. In a few moments there were only a few smoldering bits of grass left and he took aim to fire a bubble at them but suddenly he was thrown back by a pair of large blue legs landing in front of him. He looked up and saw a huge robotic wolf stamping out the embers. It howled and belched flames however they were aimed safely into the air above. This creature was simply displaying its anger at Mega Man for harming the forest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think but in my defense I did instantly try to put it out."

The wolf howled again, this time without flames, and bit down on one of Mega Man's arms. It lifted the hero up and began running through the woods. Mega Man twisted and tried to fight for freedom but it was actually a very short run. The wolf carried him in a sort of valley that held few trees and was bordered by a wooden fence. All kinds of robotic animals including the bats and rabbits were gathered around the edges like an audience. The entrance was a large wooden gate with the "Dr. W" symbol painted on it and Mega Man instantly thought the word "arena' when he saw it.

The wolf sat Mega Man down and he passed through the gate. Now he could get a better look around and he saw Wood Man sitting on wooden throne. His full body wasn't very different from the mug shot on the computer. In a nutshell, he seemed to be a squat but very solid log with a face and arms and legs. He smiled at Mega man with a menacing expression.

"Hi. You know, I was going to do the popular thing and let you fight your way to me, I really was. However, two things occurred. First, you started burning the forest and I just didn't like that at all. Although, what does my largest helper do? He spits flame in the middle of a forest. I really do seem to be the one with the poorest planning and resources. That's reason two by the way. I exist purely to fight and I really don't seem to have any other purposes but to fight."

"You seem passionate about the forest. You could be a gardener or a ranger or something."

"Yeah maybe but I kind of have to fulfill my primary programming first. And even if I don't have to, I certainly want to. That'll do for my introduction. Now it's time for the main event." He stood up and the animals at the edges of the enclosure began to get riled up as if they were at a sports event. "In the far corner, we have the soon to be defeated hero of Light Labs, Mega Man! In this corner, we have his worst nightmare!"

He jumped away from his throne and hit the ground with incredible force. Mega Man fired at him but the plasma shot was deflected by a mass of whirling leaves surrounding Wood Man. He fired several more times and the strange leafy barrier deflected every single shot. Wood Man grinned in delight at Mega Man's confusion.

"It's called the Leaf Shield. Uncreative I'll admit but it's very, very effective. Oh watch this, you'll like this bit."

He crouched down and several leaves shot upwards out of the shield and began to float down all around them. Wood Man launched the remains of the shield directly at Mega Man and the blue bot ran to get out of the way. Unfortunately he ran right into some of the falling leaves and the odd energy they emitted painfully shocked him. On top of that, Wood Man was jumping towards him with his paradoxically heavy agility. Mega Man fired again but another Leaf Shield was already in place to protect him.

"This is fun! Can you just imagine how the headlines are gonna read? "Mega Man mulched by leaves!" I gotta hand it to the Doc, that is hilarious."

"Oh yeah, I'm splitting my side here."

Mega Man took aim and quickly readied an Atomic Fire. He could feel a strange feeling about the attack but he didn't have time to explore it. He fired and watched in frustration as the fireballs bounced off the Leaf Shield. Wood Man had actually looked nervous but now he let out another deep belly laugh.

"Oh yeah, this rocks! You, on the other hand, don't. Now I have to kill you quickly so that you don't burn down the entire forest."

"Don't worry; I'm just aiming for you."

Wood Man narrowed his eyes but continued grinning maliciously. He caused the Leaf Shield to hurl itself toward Mega Man. The blue robot ran forward in a low stance and leapt through the space in the middle of the whirling leaves. He hit the ground and tumbled into a crouching position. He took aim and shot of another round of fireballs. Wood Man's eyes grew wide with panic and he leapt out of the way. As it was, his foot was hit by the flames and the large robot screamed in pain. When he hit the ground, his foot was actually on fire and he stamped the ground hard trying to put it out.

"Oh my gosh!" Mega Man said in horror "You really are made of wood, aren't you?"

"Gee, am I? I hadn't noticed." Wood Man sarcastically growled. He finished putting out the fire and stared at Mega Man "Yes, I am a robot whose outer casing is wooden instead of metallic. Do you see why I try so hard to destroy you? It gives purpose to a robot that is otherwise useless due to his creator's lack of resources."

"You can…"

"I don't even care how that sentence was doing to end. Just die."

He summoned another shield and the air was suddenly thick leaves. They were everywhere, much thicker than any previous wave, and Mega Man didn't know where to turn. As he tried to figure out what to do, a leaf shield hit him head on. Mega Man screamed as the energized leaves ripped through his metal flesh. He became aware of Wood Man leaping above him and he didn't have time to move. The large robot slammed onto Mega Man hard and knocked him to the ground. Wood Man grinned and stomped again and again. Mega Man fired a plasma shot into Wood Man's face and he stumbled backward screaming.

While Wood Man was stunned, Mega Man grabbed his leg and absorbed the Leaf Shield. He then got up and ran to the far end of the arena. Wood Man screamed and began leaping around trying to smash Mega Man. The leaves constantly surrounded him and continued to deflect plasma and fire balls alike.

"I'm going to get you eventually. I'll smash you to pieces, you little twerp."

Mega Man knew he was right. Wood Man was very strong and surprisingly agile. He had to figure something out. He readied another Atomic Fire but didn't release it. He dodged yet another jump from Wood Man and took a quick moment to focus on his buster. It was building energy; his buster was actually growing hotter and hotter. He realized that he could charge the attack lifted from Heat Man. He hoped it would be enough.

He stopped running at the center of the arena. Wood Man paused and looked confused. "What are you planning?"

"This. Atomic Fire!" His buster belched out a wall of flame that engulfed the leaves protecting Wood Man. Mega Man was already charging another attack and released it as soon as the shield broke. Wood Man was still too surprised to move and was overcome by the inferno. The wooden body roasted quickly and the robotics beneath were severely damaged. Wood Man collapsed and burned while the animals around the edge of the enclosure reacted in rage. Mega Man fired as many bubbles as he could as quickly as he could and managed to put out both the dead robot and the grass around him.

"And now to deal with you guys. I hope I have enough weapons energy left."

It turned out that he didn't have to deal with any of Wood Man's minions. A reddish-purple blur barely registered in Mega Man's enhanced sight and the robots all feel dead. A few had boomerangs sticking out of them.

"Hi there" Mega Man spun to see Quick Man lounging on Wood Man's throne, playing absently with a boomerang in his hand. "I bet you weren't expecting this."


	11. An Unexpected Battle

Chapter 10: An Unexpected Battle

"Quick Man? What are you doing here?"

"I got tired of waiting for you to pick me in this little game so I thought I'd come out to play."

"Isn't that breaking the rules?"

"Did we ever give you a complete set? Besides, life is more fun when you make the rules up as you go."

"Fun…yeah. Look, I'm sure you want a good fight but I'm pretty beaten up right now so…"

"So drink that" Quick Man said as he tossed Mega Man an E Tank "I stopped by your place to pick that up so you'd have no excuses."

"You were at my home?"

"Yeah it was a short visit though. Nobody even knew I was there which tells you that you're little family is fine. They wouldn't have been very fun to rough up anyway."

"And I'm supposed to just believe you? Look what you did to Senator Camp!"

"What did I do exactly?" Quick Man asked as he sat upright in the throne and looked right at Mega Man "I simply transported him to another location. You have no idea what happened after that and thus, logically, you can't comment on his current state."

"That…is a very good point. Ok, so what is happening to him?"

"He is sitting in a secure location as a motivation for you to fight us. We needed a way to ensure that a wuss like you wouldn't worm out of the challenge. He made himself such an obvious target."

"So he's alive and well? That gives me a reason to keep fighting."

Suddenly, Quick Man was on the other side of the arena pacing back and forth. "Ok, I simply have to pause (something I hate doing) and ask this." He was suddenly sitting on the fence in a different part of the circle with a faint blur as the only evidence of movement. "Why the sprocket would you want to save Camp?" He reappeared right next to Mega Man and continued "You do know what he wants to do to our kind, don't you? Letting us finish him off might be a huge favor to robots everywhere."

"It could also make the whole world agree with Sen. Camp. At any rate, I want to save him because it's the right thing to do. He deserves his freedom as much as any human."

"Humans deserving freedom; interesting concept considering there are so many jails." He zipped back to the throne and gave Mega Man an evil grin "I thought you were a warrior now and yet that childish righteousness is still there. That kind of makes me hate you just a little bit."

He hurled a boomerang at the ground and Mega Man only barely avoided getting his foot impaled. Quick Man's expression became wilder and he said "That, my dear sentimental idiot, was a slow one."

Mega Man raised his buster and released a Leaf Shield. His instincts proved right because another second would have been enough for those boomerangs to have hit him rather than the leaves. He chugged the E Tank and felt his energy levels max out. Quick Man hurled more boomerangs and they bounced off of the shield.

"Turns out Wood Man was good for something after all" Quick Man "Still, you can't win if you hide in there. Then again, you ain't gonna win."

Quick Man dashed forward and stopped just outside of the shield's reach. His sudden stop was accompanied by the word "Boo!" Mega Man was startled and he stepped back and, to his dismay, the shield launched itself backwards in the same direction he had stepped. His head spun around in shock to watch the leaves crash into a tree. Quick Man also starred at that tree for a moment before bursting into peals of laughter.

"Oh man, that is hilarious! The shield only works until you move? Ha ha, I hate to break it to you but tangling with me involves a lot of movement."

Mega Man didn't even have time to react as he found himself suddenly slammed into a tree outside of Wood Man's arena. Quick Man had grabbed Mega Man and used his momentum to carry him to his destination all in a matter of seconds. His back was pressed against the trunk and his feet were a few inches above the ground. He started to slide downwards but Quick Man punched him hard in the gut hard enough to momentarily halt his movement. Mega Man grunted in surprise and Quick Man laughed again.

"Imagine if that had been a boomerang instead of my fist. Maybe this isn't going to be fun after all."

Mega Man raised his buster and released a Bubble Lead right into his enemy's face. Quick Man screamed and Mega Man began to run. He was angry at himself as he realized that he could have used the proximity to have absorbed Quick Man's attack. Then again, he thought as he ran, that wouldn't have worked. Quick Man would have either pulled away the instant he tried to assimilate his data or he would have outright killed Mega Man. He was pulled out of these contemplations as Quick Man skidded to a halt in front of him. Mega Man put on the brakes so quickly that he slid for a few feet and landed on his backside.

"I know it's hard for you but…" he held up a boomerang with its sharp edge gleaming in the sunlight "think fast!"

Mega Man's eyes grew wide but he didn't even try to move. Instead he threw up a Leaf Shield that just barely managed to deflect the boomerang. Quick Man pulled out another one but at the same time, Mega Man thrust his body forward. This time it was Quick Man who reacted in surprise as he found himself bating away the leaves. Mega Man took the opportunity to get up and try to put some distance between him and Quick Man. However, he had only taken a few steps when his foe appeared right in front of him.

"Trying to outrun me? That's too pathetic to even be funny." Mega Man raised is buster and began firing plasma shots which Quick Man simply dodged. He appeared to be dancing around the shots except for the bored look on his face. "At least give me some fire to dodge. I mean that's all you have left, isn't it?"

Any further statements were cut off as Quick Man took an exceptionally wide swerve and slammed right into a tree. He was stunned and thus wasn't ready when a plasma shot struck him in the back. His head spun around in shock and anger before his whole body vanished in a blur. Mega Man was already diving behind a small clump of trees and Quick Man also smashed into those.

Mega Man realized that up until now Quick Man had only run over short, well chosen distances. Now he was having to run more wildly and was crashing into things. Perhaps his eyes couldn't always keep up with his speed? The other robots had been flawed; perhaps this was Quick Man's weakness.

Mega Man began running as fast as he could in the knowledge that Quick Man would be following. He leapt over an exposed root and instantly heard tumbling behind him. Mega Man fired a plasma shot over his shoulder and heard Quick Man grunt in pain. He kept running and found he himself was having trouble dodging around the roots, trees and bushes. He could hear Quick Man crashing into things behind him but this wasn't enough to really show the dark robot down. The distance was painfully closed altogether as a boomerang embedded itself in Mega Man's right leg, just above the foot. He collapsed into a heap and Quick Man was right in front of him.

"Well that was a bit embarrassing but it's over now" He raised his arms and both hands held boomerangs. A second later, the rage left Quick Man's eyes and he smiled a bit. "You did put up a better fight than I expected. I wonder how you'd do after a little more practice against my…comrades. I'll let you live for now but don't you dare die before I decide it's time for round two." He winked and said "Catch you later kid."

Mega Man slumped over in relief. After he had collected himself, he yanked the boomerang out of his leg but found it was simply a piece of metal. He couldn't absorb any weapon data from it.

"Dr. Light?" he called into the radio "I'm ready to come home."


	12. Factory of Fear

**I am so sorry for the delay, Faithful Readers. I am getting back into writing semi-steadily but for some reason I kept getting sidetracked as far as actually posting. Here are two new chapters at once. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 11: Factory of Fear

"At least I found out that Sen. Camp's alive" Mega Man said. He was lying face down on a lab table while Dr. Light mended his leg.

"Ok, so what's the good news?" Roll asked from nearby before receiving cold looks from both her father and her brother "Ok, it was just a joke. Yes, it's good he's fine."

"Yes it is" Dr. Light responded "Unfortunately, that's all the new information we have. We still have no idea where he's being held."

"We will once I finish this sick little game."

"I just hope there are no more surprises" Dr. Light said as he finished the repairs and indicated that Mega Man could get up "Sick is indeed the word for this situation and that was before they started changing the rules on us."

"Yeah…Dr. Light, I'm not quitting, I'm really not but I am scared. Not just for myself but for Sen. Camp. Dr. Wily has made it very clear that I'm his best hope but if there are more like Quick Man…I'm just not strong enough."

"Rock, we will figure this out together. You are incredibly strong."

"Thanks. Hey, what about the others we picked up; Bubble Man and co? Did you find anything out from them such as a weakness?"

"They're gone Rock" Roll answered "I think we have your friend Quick Man to thank for that."

"And" Dr. Light added "What little I did study didn't tell me much except that they were very well built robots. That" he said in response to the look on Rock's face "is exactly what you are, if I do say so myself. Now, if we must play let's play."

"Play?!" Roll exclaimed "How can we keep calling this a game? Dr. Wily's not even playing fair. What if he repairs those robots he took back from us?"

Mega Man looked at his frightened and angry sister and put a hand on her shoulder "If he does then I'll just have to beat them again. We beat Dr. Wily once and we'll beat him this time too."

"Ok Rock" She suddenly flashed a fierce grin and said "Go stick it to them Mega Man!"

"Ok! Let's see here" he said as he gave her shoulder a last squeeze and marched over to the computer. His optimism quickly faded as he studied the screen. The five remaining robot faces revealed nothing except the one he certainly wasn't going to pick. "Um, wow this is not getting any easier. Oh let's just go for it!"

He thrust out his finger and it landed on Metal Man. Mega Man waited until the teleportation had finished before examining his surroundings. His sense of hearing got the first turn to explore due the place being so loud. All around him echoed the sounds of heavy machinery; a constant throbbing, grinding, and clanking cacophony. The dull red light allowed just enough visibility for Mega Man to see that he was in a large factory of some kind. Specifically, he was standing on a platform directly in front of a series of conveyor belts. The lighting was dim enough that he couldn't see the ground below and he had a feeling that it wouldn't be safe to jump down there.

"I mean if it's a choice between the obvious danger that I can see and the implied danger that I can't…ok maybe that's a question of context but I think I'm meant to go this way."

He jumped onto the conveyer belt and was quickly thrown onto his backside by the swift motion of the belt. It was actually a very sturdy material and he was about to find out why. His ungraceful attempts to stand back up were all that saved him from being crushed under a large press with spikes on its bottom. Mega Man was initially shocked and afraid but he had a sudden brainwave. As the press began its slow ascent back to its starting position, he grabbed the safe top side and let his body get pulled into an upright position. Then it was simply a matter of running under it.

"Ok that actually wasn't so…oh gosh there's another one!"

He had to literally dive to get past the second crusher in one piece. He glanced upwards and saw a third one. He rolled his eyes and muttered "Really?" before quickly scrambling to crawl backwards. "This is ridiculous."

It took a little concentration and patience but Mega Man finally found his way safely to the end of the conveyor belt. It connected to another conveyor belt that continued the path ahead. He quickly discovered that this one was running in the opposite direction of the first and he had to run to actually go in the right direction. The good news was that this reverse belt didn't look like it had as many presses slamming into it from above. The bad news was that this belt had Met's standing along its sides.

Mega Man grunted in frustration as he began running forward against the motion of the belt while dodging the shots from the hard hat wearing enemies. He put on a sudden burst of speed as the press began to rise again. He felt the shots from the Mets hitting him but he knew they would do far less damage than the spiked terror above. As it happened, he only barely made it past the press and had one more to get past before the belt ended. He felt another shot hit his arm and he fired back. Sadly, the Met ducked like a turtle and Mega Man's plasma shot simply bounced off of the helmet.

Mega Man wondered for a second what Dr. Wily made those things out of before forcing his mind back to the situation at hand. The nearest Met raised its helmet and fired. In a burst of inspiration, Mega Man stopped running and let the belt carry him backwards while he fired back simultaneously. He was carried out of the path of the enemy fire but his own shot hit the robot underneath the helmet. This situation resulted in two things: the first result was the enemy robot was the destroyed and the second result was that the enemy press behind him was now dangerously close once again. Mega Man ran forward and almost hit the press in front of him. He saw the Mets shifting their position and knew that his trick would not work on all of them, at least not without great risk.

And so he simply ran. He activated a couple of Leaf Shields that did a decent job of deflecting the enemy fire and he made it past the press. Reaching the end of the conveyor belt, he stepped onto the platform waiting for him. He had gotten used to the moving floor and lost his balance upon reaching stable ground. He tumbled down a very short flight of stairs and discovered that the ground was actually not that far away. Somehow the dim light had concealed a floor that was only about four or five feet below the conveyor belts. This also meant that the Mets were easily able to follow him. He was barely on his feet when he found himself being pummeled by their tiny but effective shots.

Mega Man began firing back but it was a slow process. He would have been quicker at dealing with them but they were moving around all over the place. One of the irksome machines planted itself underneath Mega Man's feet and dropped down into defense mode. His foot connected with the firmly planted hard hat and he fell over sideways. As soon as he was down, the Mets began to dance all around him and shoot at him.

"Leaf Shield" he shouted. The razor sharp leaves began to swirl and a few of the Mets were caught with their helmets up. Those hit smoked, sputtered and stopped moving. "That'll even things up a bit."

He leapt to his feet and fired upon the startled enemies. Most still had their helmets up and so they went down quickly. The few that remained were now frightened and backing up. That was their mistake; they should have hidden under their hard hats. As it was, they were soon out of commission.

"Ah, thank goodness that mess is over. Now to see what fresh horrors Metal Man has in store for me."

Some of the lights were a bit brighter than others causing them to form a path between walls of huge clanking machinery. Mega Man followed the path with is buster at the ready. As he walked, he heard something moving among the large wheels and gears. He looked around through the eerie red light but saw nothing. Then again, maybe that had been a flash of movement in the shadows. He was beginning to get feel uneasy and so he quickened his pace. Suddenly, a loud metallic crash sounded behind him and Mega Man was knocked to the ground the next second. He screamed in pain and shock as a large heavy gear rolled right over his back. He looked up as his continued to roll forward and he saw that a robot was riding it like a unicycle. It had a small humanoid shape with monkey like movements.

Mega Man raised his buster but the gear riding robot had already rode back into the machinery. Mega Man began moving forward as quickly as he could and climbed to his feet as he progressed. He wanted to get out of this place as soon as he could. As soon as he was properly on his feet, he heard the crashing sound again and spun. Instead of firing, he jumped out of the way to avoid being run over again. The wild robot flashed him a malicious grin as it passed right near him. Mega Man began firing but the horrid thing dodged with dance like movements. This was not entirely without result because it had danced so wildly that is lost its balance and knocked its odd vehicle over.

The robot rolled across the ground and Mega Man took his chance. He didn't mess around with plasma bolts and roasted the little bugger with an Atomic Fire. As soon as it stopped moving, Mega Man ran to the end of the path as fast as he could. He came to a wall and turned right to run along it. He dealt with more Mets as best as he could but kept running. Finally, he came to a clear spot and stopped.

"Stupid Rock" he berated himself "What kind of hero lets himself get carried away by fear like that?" He glanced around and discovered that he had stopped right by a long corridor. The lights were just as dim here but if he looked hard he could just make out a large gate with the now familiar "Dr. W" symbol painted on it. "Almost there."

He entered the corridor but was immediately struck across his back by something large and painful. He turned around but there was nothing there. He felt his back as best he could and was dismayed to feel a fairly large scratch. It didn't go all the way to the machinery within but his armor now had a weak spot. He allowed himself a rare curse word as he turned back towards the Wily Gate and began to walk very slowly forward. Almost immediately something began to rise out of the floor. He stopped just short of it and watched in horror as a large, sharp screw rose from a hole in the floor and gained speed at a steady rate. He heard a faint sound from the ceiling discovered another one coming down directly above him. He jumped back just in time but his movement triggered more hidden screw silos.

"I suppose this is what they mean by so near and yet so far" he said in his frustration.


	13. Metal Meyhem

Chapter 12: Metal Mayhem

Mega Man stood on the spot trying to figure out how best to proceed. Simply running to the gate could be quite lethal. He took an experimental step forward and immediately hopped over the screw that came out of the ground. He considered trying out Item 1 but that would be rather complicated as motion itself seemed to set the screws off. He remembered that Doctor Light had been working on some other support items including what looked like a flying surfboard. He found himself wishing that one had been completed first. Sure the screws would still come but he'd already be at the gate.

Back in reality, Mega Man started to quickly but carefully move toward the gate. The first few paces were okay but there was little rhyme or reason to the projectiles locations or speed. He actually stepped on a screw and went rolling across the floor while screaming in pain. He landed on his back and immediately saw several screws coming down from the ceiling right towards him. He clamored to his feet and found that he could still use his foot pretty well. He decided to try a new tactic of hugging the wall as he moved down the corridor. This worked pretty well over all until he reached the area right in front of the gate. The screws here were flying up and down at an incredible speed and Mega Man sighed in frustration.

"I hope this works" he said as he braced himself to jump toward the wall of painful projectiles "Leaf Shield"

Since the shield was raised while he was leaping through the air, it stayed with him well enough to offer protection. He slammed into the gate and it went up as he fell down. He glanced up, realized that the gate was open, and crawled through quickly before the gate slammed shut behind him. He started looking around the room but he was distracted by the sound of laughter.

"Hey dork, did you lose a contact lens or something?"

Mega Man realized that he was still on the floor and quickly scrambled to his feet. He looked across the conveyor belts built into the floor of the room and saw Metal Man. He was a large red with a bulky upper body and shoulder joints that looked like saw blades. His entire head, sans the eyes, was covered by a red helmet with another saw blade on the forehead. He was still giggling as he eyed his opponent.

"Looks like it's going to be a night of comedy; first you're hilarious entrance and now for your gut busting exit."

On that note, a real blade materialized in Metal Man's hand and he hurled it directly at Mega Man's stomach. The blue robot managed to dodge to the side just in the nick of time and his eyes grew very wide when the circular missile sank deep into the thick wall behind him. A second later, he was dancing around more blades as the air suddenly became filled with them. Mega Man tried to fire back but one of the belts on the floor had started moving under his feet and he couldn't aim properly.

"You didn't think this was going to be easy, did you? Dr. Wily and I put a lot of work into this place for you."

"I noticed. I'm afraid I don't appreciate it."

"Now you've hurt my feelings. I'm afraid you'll have to apologize by dying."

Mega Man rolled his eyes and took careful aim. Unfortunately, the floor started moving in the other direction and Mega man found himself being carried towards Metal Man. This threw off his coordination and he felt a blade nick his arm. Even though it had barely touched him, it left a terrible gash in its wake.

"Wow! You could give Cut Man a run for his money" Mega Man yelled as he did his best to back up a ways.

"I should certainly hope so considering I'm an improvement on Cut Man. A good number of my brothers and I are better versions of Light's robots, even if some were only loosely inspired by the original defects."

"Oh great, Dr. Wily, the alleged genius, can't even come up with an original idea."

"Hey, I'd be careful what you say around the guy who's itching to slice your head off."

Mega Man had already fired while Metal Man was riled up about the crack about Dr. Wily. The murderous machine reacted in terror and dove out of the way of the plasma shot without a shred of dignity. He recovered quickly and now Mega Man was the one on the run from enemy fire. He did his best to dodge but the moving floors made it difficult. He finally released an Atomic Fire that destroyed several blades and came near Metal Man himself. Once again, the enemy robot scrambled to get away from the attack.

Mega Man smiled and took the opportunity to fire a regular plasma shot. The attack struck Metal Man in the back; he howled in pain as his whole body jerked and sparked. He turned in absolute rage and began hurling blades from a kneeling position. Mega Man activated a Leaf Shield and allowed it to take the brunt of most of the attack while he moved off to the side.

"You didn't like that, did you Metal Man? You can dish it out but you can't take it, eh?"

"Shut up!" Metal Man screamed as he hurled another barrage and even began jumping around like grasshopper. The result was even though there were more blades than ever, they were flying wildly and Mega Man didn't have to work as hard to avoid them.

"I think I'm right. You have a lot of offensive power but haven't shown a lot of defense. I think the term is 'glass cannon.'"

"You little jerk!" He continued to hurl the blades but kept his distance. Mega Man fired back and the two robots sort of danced around each other as they dealt with the moving floors and enemy fire. Mega Man screamed as another blade nicked his side and the same happened as a plasma bolt hit Metal Man. Mega Man sucked up his own damage and took advantage of his distracted enemy by releasing an Atomic Fire.

Metal Man looked up and literally dropped to the floor to avoid the wall of flame. Mega Man ran jumped across the conveyor belts and aimed right at Metal Man's head. Suddenly, he reached up and grabbed Mega Man's arm. Within seconds they were wrestling and grappling on the floor. Each struggled so violently that the other could never get anything like a clear shot on his enemy. Metal Man conjured a blade but Mega Man grabbed that arm and tried to force Metal Man's own weapon against his throat. Finally Metal Man managed throw Mega Man off of him using his legs.

"You're good" Metal Man said "I'll admit it, you are pretty good. I, however, am better"

"Want to bet?" He pointed his buster and a saw blade came out of the end. Metal Man gasped and jumped out of the way.

"You absorbed my Metal Blade."

"Metal Blade? It's really called Metal Blade? That's even worse than Gut's Man's Super Arm."

His enemy just growled in response and started throwing more blades of his own. Mega Man rolled his eyes at the monotony and fired a series of plasma shots at Metal Man's legs. One hit and Metal Man dropped to his knee in shock and pain. Mega Man fired another Metal Blade and Metal Man had just enough time to see it coming before it hit him square in the face. Mega Man was surprised, and a little freaked out, when the projectile came out the back of Metal Man's head and the robot fell over motionless.

"Ok, that's a bit messed up but it gets the job done. On the bright side, I think I'm going to absolutely love this new attack."


	14. A Clash in the Clouds

Chapter 13: A Clash in the Clouds

"So how's this choice looking, Rock?" Dr. Light's voice asked through Mega Man's radio

"Well, let's just say my new toy might come in handy."

He had just teleported onto a large platform that was somehow suspended in the sky. Stretching far ahead of him was a series of similar platforms and other things he couldn't quite make out. He experimentally looked over the edge and recoiled when he saw that some of the clouds were actually below him. He took a few steps back and tried to figure out what he should do. He remembered he was on with Dr. Light when the scientist spoke into his ear.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I am in the sky. I looked down and saw clouds."

"Well…I suppose that was always a possibility with a robot called Air Man. What exactly are you standing on?"

"It's some kind of…platform…sort of like the helicarriers in comic books."

"I had heard of some experimental technology that was in development. It was going to be used for weather monitoring and things like that."

"It sounds like Dr. Wily had other plans for this tech."

"Oh well. Go do your thing and I'll be ready to do mine."

"What's your thing, Dr. Light?"

"Why putting you back together at the end of the day, of course."

"Har de har har. I'll try to contain the rest of my laughter while I go to work."

"See you later, Rock."

Mega Man signed off and walked to the edge of the platform. He hadn't noticed up until now that the platforms were slowly moving back and forth. One of them came close to his and he took a running leap. He landed on the platform and ran across it. He made progress across a few more platforms before a strange robot suddenly popped out of the ground in front of him. In appearance it was a little like a large but squat blue ape with a fan in its belly. This fan instantly began to blow and Mega Man was thrown backwards off of the platform.

He managed to grab the edge and crawl back up. He was more prepared for the wind this time and was able to brace himself. He aimed his buster and began firing. It was slow progress since he also had to hang onto the edge. He managed to roll to the side and the robot turned to face him. Mega Man decided to change tact and threw a Metal Blade. The wind robot was instantly felled.

"Wow! I should have gone after Metal Man first."

Mega Man took a few steps and was suddenly blown forward off of his feet. He glanced back and saw another ape like robot behind him. He turned and fired another Metal Blade. It ripped right through the whirling fan and destroyed the robot.

"Yep, I love this weapon."

After making sure there weren't going to be anymore enemies, he walked to the edge of the platform and found that the way forward was a bit different. The platforms in front of him were more like giant heads with strange horns around the edges that rose up and down. Right as Mega Man was getting ready to time a jump, when the large head began to spawn smaller ones out of its sides. A small group of these flying nuisances quickly began to swarm around Mega Man and attempted to knock him off of the edge. Fortunately, they were easy to destroy and he soon had an opening to jump. He landed on the edge and just had time to take a step forward before the spikes came back up. He noticed that the next platform was another strange head and it was already spewing its own hoard of miniatures.

"Ok so I just need to patient…ow, what was that?"

He had been so focused on the known obstacles that he'd failed to notice the robotic birds beginning to gather from above. One had dropped an egg directly onto his shoulder where it had hatched and released several tiny but fierce birds. Mega Man threw up a Leaf Shield but he was now trapped. He couldn't stand there forever but even firing his buster would destroy the shield. The enemies were regrouping with more joining the ranks and his spike edged floor wasn't very large.

"Ok this game is getting ridiculous. It's time to use a cheat code; activate Item 2!"

As the leaves dispersed, a red surfboard formed in the air. Mega Man jumped onto the board as the rockets on the back ignited. He quickly left his cloud of adversaries behind and was shooting across the sky. He soared past more birds, giant heads, and even some robots on clouds that tried to hit with blades shaped like lightning bolts. Mega Man laughed at the top of his voice as he shot right past all of these obstacles.

"Best support item ever! The magnet beam has nothing on this!"

He was so lost in his joy that he almost forgot to look where he was going. His eyes grew wide as a wall loomed before him. Just as he was about to hit it, the board's energy supply ran out and it was teleported back home. Mega Man dropped onto a ledge and rolled right into the wall. As he gathered his wits, Mega Man became aware that he was at the edge of one of the original flat platforms with a large Wily Gate in front of him.

"Really, a gate here?" He stood and touched it with his hand. It opened and Mega Man found that the platform beyond the gate was one of many. It was like a series of small islands floating in tight formation at different levels. Standing on his island was a large robot with a body made of blue armor. He had no head but instead a pair of menacing eyes set above a large fan built into his chest. The robot chuckled in a deep voice.

"I thought you wouldn't make or that at least you'd have more trouble than that. That's a rather nice toy you've got there."

"Air Man I presume?"

"Indeed. I am Air Man the Undefeated."

What if you do get defeated? Do you start calling yourself 'Air Man the Not So Undefeated but Never Mind?' "

Air Man chucked again and said "I guess I'll never find out; especially not because of you. This will be your last battle Mega Man…assuming you can last long enough to have a battle."

The fan in his torso began to spin at an incredible rate. Mega Man actually left the ground as he was thrown backwards by the wind. He almost freaked out as he looked down and saw all the way to the ground. Fortunately, he was blown far enough to land on another platform. He quickly regained his balance while enduring Air Man's booming laughter.

"I haven't even started yet, shrimp. At least try to make this worth my time."

Mega Man didn't respond but rather he took aim and fired a round of plasma shots. His jaw dropped when his energy projectiles where blocked by a wall of tornadoes. A second later he realized that they were moving towards him and he was buffeted left and right by the small but powerful funnels. When the storm finally calmed down, Mega Man was lying near the edge of his platform. He crawled to his knees and heard Air Man laughing again.

"That's my favorite trick. It's called the Air Shooter."

"Leaf Shield, Metal Blade, Air Shooter…you guys are strong but not very creative."

"Oh shut up!"

He generated another wall of tornadoes and Mega Man hit the deck. Lying flat allowed the worst of it to pass safely over him and he instantly popped up and fired a Metal Blade. Air Man was momentarily shocked by Mega Man's successful gambit and the blade struck. Again Mega Man felt his jaw drop as the deadly missile simply bounced off of Air Man's strong body without leaving so much as a scratch.

"Yeah, that happened in sparing matches with Metal Man too. I told you I can't be beaten."

"We'll see about that." He fired a round of regular plasma shots but Air Man was on the move. With a speed and agility at odds with his bulky body, Air Man leapt across his platform and over on to Mega Man's. Mega Man tried to quickly stand up but was quickly swept off of his feet. He grunted as his back struck the underside of one the upper platforms hard. He would have had a very long time to wave goodbye if he hadn't quickly generated an Item 1 directly beneath himself.

As the round surface ascended, Mega Man clambered off of it onto the platform he'd just become acquainted with. He aimed downwards towards his opponent and tried an Atomic Fire. Air Man generated another Air Shooter and the shield of solid wind snuffed out the fire ball. Mega Man ran to another part of the platform in order to avoid the incoming whirlwinds while letting the fire charge up in his buster. Air Man fired another round of tornadoes but Mega Man was already using another Item 1 as a stepping stone to another platform. Air Man leapt up to join Mega Man and the hero released the built up attack into his enemy's face point blank.

Air Man didn't have time to defend himself and he screamed in rage and shock as the large fireball washed over him. Mega Man groaned when he saw how little damage it did while his enemy chuckled.

"I will admit that hurt a bit but it looks like you just played your trump card." He grabbed Mega Man by the throat and lifted him into the air. Mega Man struggled but Air Man was stronger. "I'll just have to make sure that you don't play it again." He turned on the spot and hurled Mega Man down to a platform below.

He landed hard and rolled across the floor. He stopped face up and was able to see Air Man already leaping down to join him. Mega Man started to stand up but again was buffeted around by a cloud of cyclones. This time he ended up thrown high into the air and soon on his way back down. Air Man didn't let him hit the floor but rather punched him across the platform. Mega Man rolled over the edge and it was only his quick reflexes that allowed him to make a grab at the edge.

Mega Man knew he had just one trick left to try; a trick crazy enough to work. He could hear Air Man coming and so he summoned another Item 1 beneath himself and dropped. He instantly hopped aboard an Item 2 and coasted under the platform before jumping up behind Air Man. He charged as fast as his battered legs would carry him and fired a Leaf Shield with his buster aimed right at Air Man's torso fan.

A good number of the leaves jammed the blades right before another Air Shooter was whipped up. The powerful fan fought against the blockage but only managed to drive the deepest leaves in even deeper. The fine edged foliage ripped through the internal mechanisms and Air Man was rocked by the ensuing explosions.

"OUCH!" He staggered about with his midsection still smoking and sparking. "No, this can't happen."

"It looks like it is happening. It also looks like you're a touch more vulnerable now."

Mega Man wasted no time in firing a shot into the damaged fan. Air Man screamed and dropped to one knee. Air Man raised his own buster and fired an Air Shooter out of it. Mega Man braced himself as the tornadoes formed but was relieved to subsequently discover that they'd lost much of the punch of the previous attacks. He stood his ground as the wind died down and tried to take aim for another shot. Air Man however was already on the move; his preferred attack was beginning to fail him he was now charging at Mega Man aiming to use his large body as a weapon.

Mega Man didn't have enough time to dodge and took the full force of the tackle with a shout of pain. He was knocked to the ground and just managed to shift to the side as Air Man punched at him. His fist came down within inches of Mega Man's head and the two robots were now staring into each other's eyes. Acting on instinct more than conscious thought, Mega Man thrust his buster right up against the fan and generated another Leaf Shield. The close range caused the leaves not to wrap around Mega Man as they normally would but instead to rip through Air Man.

The large robot master convulsed wildly as the damage was wrought inside his armored body. He jerked one way and Mega Man rolled the other before climbing to his feet. He dropped back to his knees barely able to stand but Air Man was obviously in worse condition. He lay on his back surrounded by his own parts and his fan totally out of commission. He raised his buster but then it dropped again. He was nearly out of power and couldn't even spare any for a last attack.

"Impossible" the battered warrior said "I can't be beaten."

"Nobody is truly invincible but it was a good fight."

"Is that supposed to be pity?! I don't need it from the likes of you! I'm Air Man. I was going to be Lord of the Skies when Dr. Wily took over. I…I…"

"You're going to finish yourself off if you don't calm down." The warning came too late and Air Man shuddered before lying perfectly still. His eyes had gone blank and the sparks began to become less frequent. Mega Man simply shook his head as he touched the dead robot and absorbed his weapon data as Air Man fully shut down. "You were good. Really good in fact; I just got lucky."

He staggered to his wobbly feet and turned away to radio for a teleport home. He paused when he heard a noise behind him. He turned around again just in time to see the final stage of a teleport and Air Man's body was gone. Mega Man wondered who could have teleported in and then back out with Air Man's remains so quickly but literally face palmed as he saw the obvious answer. A boomerang was impaled in the ground at Mega Man's feet with a note attached.

He retrieved the note and read its short message: "Nice work with Mr. Undefeatable. Keep it up and you'll actually be worth my time."


	15. A Clash with Crash Man

Chapter 14: A Clash with Crash Man

"There you go Rock" Dr. Light said finishing polishing Mega Man's armor "You're all ready to head back out. I must say it's a good thing I'm so practiced at this by now. These battles…I wish there was another way."

"So do I Dr. Light, believe me I wish I didn't have to fight like this."

"You are good at it though" as Roll opened an E Tank, inserted a straw, and gave it to her brother. "If there's ever a robot tournament or anything like that, you should totally enter."

"Oh no" he answered before taking a long drink of the energy restorative "I mean I am proud of my skills but at heart I'm more of a lab assistant than a brawler."

She sighed and said "Party pooper."

"Anyway" Dr. Light cut in "Rock, do you feel ready to continue using those skills?"

"Yep, let's go to work."

They approached the screen and gazed at the three remaining robot mug shots. Mega Man said "Well I really don't think I'm ready for Quick Man yet. Actually, I don't think I'm ever going to be ready for Quick Man but it'll come eventually. Anyway, I need to figure out who would be my best bet out of the remaining two and I need to make the decision as carefully and thoughtfully as I can" He paused for a moment before turning to Dr. Light and saying "Do you have a coin I can borrow?"

"I would argue but I can't come up with a better method. Here you are."

Mega Man tossed the coin and grabbed it out of the air. "Crash Man it is."

"That name could several things so be careful Rock."

"Aren't I always?"

Dr. Light smiled "Of course you are. I'm sorry for worrying too much."

"It's ok, it makes me feel good."

Roll's voice cut in "Ok we have a group hug later after evil is vanquished. Have fun and kick butt."

Without further ado, her finger shot out and hit the square in the bottom right corner. Mega Man vanished in a beam of blue light and reformed in a large metallic space. Mega Man was disorientated for a few seconds but he pulled himself together quickly. He took a second look at his surroundings and it seemed like some sort of factory that had undergone renovations. There were yellow pipes running all over the floors, walls, and even a few that extended out into open air to support platforms. The ceiling of the room was very high and the platforms were connected by ladders.

"Dr. Light? Dr. Light, are you there? Well that's the first time I've ever had the signal completely blocked from the beginning. Okie dokie then, up I go."

Mega Man moved towards the nearest ladder but heard something above him. He looked up and groaned as a swarm of the silver "hamburger" robots from Heat Man's territory were swarming above him. Mega Man tried climbing up with a Leaf Shield with mixed results. The shield did indeed destroy the spinning menaces but it shot ahead of Mega Man as he climbed up. He climbed the ladder as quickly as he could but mounted the platform to find another swarm of silver annoyances. He began firing upon them with his buster and made slow but steady progress.

"Would it kill any of these guys to just show up to the fight without all of these theatrics? Oh well I guess it might actually, never mind."

He fought through the rest of the crowd and grabbed the next ladder. He continued in this manner until he reached a path leading through the ceiling and up to the next floor. He found himself in a narrow corridor and began to run down it. The lights were dim and he almost bumped into the odd robot coming towards him. It was like a tall silver snake wriggling towards him upright on its tail. It advanced with its segments wriggling back and forth.

He backed away to give himself some shooting room and took aim. His shots bounced off of the reinforced body of the snake like robot. He thought quickly, aimed at the eyes, and fired a few quick blasts. The segmented body was blown apart with the pieces going everywhere.

"When in doubt, go for the eyes. It's a bit disturbing but effective."

He traveled down the corridor at a run and dispatched several more wriggling robots. The doors were all sealed as he ran along and the only way to advance was another ladder. He climbed it quickly and emerged into a large tower of sorts. The room just kept going up and up but the next ladder was very high above. The rest of the structure had been gutted and rebuilt as a series of metal "webs" with small platforms moving around on wheels. The air around these structures was already filling with the small spinning robots while the floor around him was covered in Mets.

"This place is a little like a fun house" he said between shots "except I'm not having much fun."

He found a break in the assault and noticed that the lowest moving platform was nearby. He leapt upon it, threw up a Leaf Shield, and stood still. The only movement was slight adjustments of his head so that he could see what was going on around him and this allowed the shield to stay in place. The whirling leaves deflected the Met shots and destroyed the silver bots upon contact. His small standing space twisted, dipped, and climbed its way through the maze of metal but Mega Man rode safe and secure in his bubble of foliage.

"This really isn't so bad. The powers I pick up are so handy that sometimes I feel like I'm cheating."

The platform approached the top of web structure where another, more complex one above it. A platform was making its way towards Mega Man from the other direction. He jumped onto the small space while the Leaf Shield shot upwards, taking out more flying bots. The trek upwards continued until he finally reached the far ceiling of the tower and he managed to grab on to another ladder. The dispersing Leaf Shield kept any annoyances at bay and he climbed through the ceiling into a sort of tunnel.

"They sure did a number on this place but it's nothing for someone like…me."

He stuttered on the last word when he emerged from the vertical tunnel into what seemed to be outer space. He was staring up into a black void broken only by stars and even distant galaxies. The ladder he was climbing on was hard to see despite him actually still hanging on it. The atmosphere (assuming there still was one) was very cold which only added to the sensation of being in outer space.

"Ok…I wasn't expecting that. Well there's nothing to it but to do it."

Mega Man began to climb the ladder with great care and was keeping his every sense on red alert. Suddenly, his head slammed into a hard surface above him. He felt around above him but could feel no way through the obstruction. He began moving his arms in ever wider motions until his fingers brushed another ladder of to the side. Curious, he reached the other way and felt another ladder. Knowing no other way to decide, he chose the one on the left and began to climb.

He made his way up a short way before being struck by an unseen assailant. He fell onto the platform he had previously bumped from below. He climbed to his feet and tried to see what hit him. He stared into the starry void and made out a metal bird soaring towards him. It was holding a large egg which it dropped over Mega Man's head. He dodged and it hit the floor next to him where it broke open. He was surrounded by a flock of tiny birds that shocked him upon touching. A quick Leaf Shield disposed of the flock but he was running out of energy for that particular technique. He sought out the parent bird and took it out.

He checked for any visible threats and resumed climbing. He noticed another egg carrying bird out of the corner of his eye. He took aim, destroyed both enemy objects, and kept climbing. He hit another platform and chose a way onto it. A plasma shot struck him and he found a small, round robot with blasters for arms. It wore what looked like a spacesuit and seemed to stand on nothing. Mega Man danced on the spot to avoid the shots it was constantly lobbing and returned fire. He managed to hit with one of his shots but quickly switched to Metal Blade. The deadly disk found its mark and Mega Man moved on.

He climbed further and further upwards through the darkness. He chose more ladders, occasionally having to backtrack and choose a new path, and continued to fight birds and little round astronauts. Finally, he saw a Wily Gate above him in an otherwise black ceiling. It opened as he approached and Mega Man climbed into a large, bare, round room. The gate closed and Mega Man stood up in front of tall, red robot. He was very solidly built with a large torso and arms that ended in drill-like appendages.

"Hello Mega Man. It's so nice to finally meet you properly. My name is Crash Man." He gave a bow and Mega Man was a bit stunned.

"Hello, nice, er, space scenery."

"Yeah I do have a flair for the dramatic. Sometimes I get a bit CARRIED AWAY!"

fire

He shouted the last two words striking a fighting stance with his "drills" pointed at Mega Man. "Whoa that was unexpected."

"Was it?" Crash Man asked in a polite tone while relaxing his position. "I was based on two robots instead of one. The explosive power of Bomb Man and the strength of Guts Man. I wonder if that's what made my personality so interesting. Anyway, LET'S DANCE!"

He fired a drill with a round, red top out of each arm. Mega Man jumped to the side and they stuck in the wall. The red bit flashed twice before both projectiles exploded. Mega Man was flung sideways by the force of the blast. He tucked his body and rolled back into a standing position. He took aim and fired only for Crash Man to jump over the plasma shot. The laughing robot soared high through the air while peppering the floor with bombs. Mega Man ran, jumped, and dodged between the explosions. Crash Man came down where his enemy had just been standing and turned to attack again.

"Not bad. You didn't get nearly as banged up as I expected, Blue Boy."

"Thanks, I always enjoy getting compliments from people trying to kill me."

"Well I always try to be fair everyone" Crash Man replied calmly "I'm a psychopath, I'm not rude. Now shall we CONTINUE?"

He leapt high into the air again while raining bombs and laughing like a maniac. Mega Man was engulfed in fire and smoke as the shockwaves tore through him. Crash Man landed next to him and grinned as he aimed his drills into his face. Mega Man had only a second to aim his buster and fire first. Crash Man stumbled backwards as the plasma hit him square in the face. Mega Man took the opportunity to put some distance between them. He turned and fired again but Crash Man was gone. Mega Man glanced up and saw his opponent overhead grinning ear to ear. The blue hero tried firing on the bomber but all of the shots missed. Crash Man's projectiles had equal aim but unfortunately they had far better follow-through.

Mega Man braced himself but still suffered damage. He decided to cut to the chase by readying a Metal Blade. He took aim but Crash Man was already on the move again and Mega Man couldn't hit him.

"I must say, it's difficult to find anything nice to say about your aim. What do you think of MINE?"

He dropped bombs all over the floor and Mega Man was shrouded in smoke. He tried to compensate but froze when he felt something very close behind him. He turned his head a fraction and saw Crash Man pressing a bomb-tipped arm to his throat. Mega Man blinked before saying "Well, it seems like cheating to get so close."

"All's fair in love, war, and blowing little blue guys heads clean off. Can you guess which one is about to happen?"

"None of the above" replied Mega Man he simultaneously ducked and shot Crash Man in the stomach. The bomb sailed over Mega Man's head as Crash Man grunted in pain. He quickly straightened back up and fired some bombs. Mega Man dodged from side to side and realized that he wasn't getting anywhere very quickly. He decided to go ahead and try something new.

He ran to the far end of the room and turned to face Crash Man. The cackling robot shook his head and took yet another leap. Mega Man pointed his buster at Crash Man and shouted "Air Shooter." The effect was rather satisfying, a trio of small but power tornadoes erupted from the buster and buffeted Crash Man around like a rag doll. As the cyclones dissipated, a powerful updraft slammed the helpless robot against the ceiling and then dropped him like a sack of potatoes.

"Whoa" Crash Man groaned as lifted his head off of the ground and looked at Mega Man "Rock beats scissors and wind beats bombs. That's good to know so I can look out for it." He tried to stand up but stumbled a bit "I must congratulate you on scrambling my insides pretty well. I guess I'll just have to get NASTY!"

He got all the way to his feet and struck a fighting position. The homicidal glint in his eye faded as Mega Man began to grapple with him. He tried to aim a bomb at his foe point blank but Mega Man forced his arms in other directions. At the same time, the blue hero absorbed weapon data out of the pointed appendages. The two robots struggled like this for a few minutes before Mega Man was able to release another round of tornadoes. The two robots were blown apart but Crash Man took the worst of it. He was rammed against the far wall and slid rather pathetically to the ground.

"Ow. That is one annoying trick."

"And surprisingly affective, you can barely move."

"What now? Do we part ways like gentlemen or are you going rip me apart cog by greasy cog?"

"Eww, you do have quite an imagination. I'd like to help you but I doubt you'll leave me with that option."

"RIGHTO BLUE BOY" the battered but spirited Crash Man screamed. He took aim with both arms but Mega Man fired first.

"Air Shooter" The tornado trio buffeted Crash Man wildly and he didn't move when he flopped to the floor. "Wow, I can see why Air Man bragged so much. Well for better or worse, that's six down and two to go. Won't that be fun?" He rolled his eyes and sent a signal to Light Labs for a teleport.


	16. Frozen

**Here it is at last, Robot Master #7. I hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

Chapter 15: Frozen

"Well Rock" Roll asked via radio link "what's your initial thoughts on your Flash Man choice?"

"Cool, actually a better word would be cold. I seem to be in an ice cave."

"Indeed" Dr. Light chimed in "You're signal is in a large cave system/research facility in Antarctica. A very large cave system actually, it would be easy to get lost."

"I'm sure that would make Dr. Wily simply distraught" Mega Man responded sarcastically "Well then I'm sure I'll find good use for my support items, including the new one hot off the workbench."

"I do hope it works well. There wasn't much time to test it."

"Aw your creations always work great. Just look at me."

"Indeed" Dr. Light answered with a chuckle in his voice. "Okay Rock, go do your thing. Just come back in one piece…or at least be sure to collect the pieces."

"And in that spirit, I set forth."

Mega Man set forth down the dim tunnel at a cautious pace. The passage was empty and the lights seemed to come from within the walls and floors. He kept expecting an enemy or at least some sort of trap but nothing ever appeared. The only thing of interest was that the light down at the end of the tunnel pulsed oddly. Mega Man quickened his pace and almost slipped on the icy floor. He stepped more carefully this time and approached the pulsing light.

The corridor ended in what seemed to be a massive vertical shaft of ice. Many tunnels branched off of it above and below Mega Man. He could see the metal supports of what must have at one time been an elevator to allow movement through the mine. The source of the flickering light was now apparent; certain tunnels were illuminated by bulbs in the floors and walls turning on and off in certain patterns. Some patterns were faster than others but all moved down the tunnels away from the main shaft.

"I suppose those tunnels lead me closer to Flash Man…or at least to something interesting. The dark tunnels…well why deal with those when these nice paths are here for me." He glanced up and down comparing tunnels and realized that the fastest moving lights came from a tunnel high above him. "If this were a video game, the easiest path would be the hardest to get to. That seems to follow here but it remains to see if I'm right."

Mega Man pointed his buster into the shaft and summoned the newest support item. Item 3 was a platform a bit smaller yet thicker than Item I with metal, many fingered appendages on either side. This strange claw was imbedded in one of the walls of the vertical shaft and began to climb. Mega Man jumped on, rose towards the desired tunnel, and hopped back off at the desired height.

At first the flashing illuminated path was a bit overwhelming but Mega Man's eyes adjusted quickly. It also became easier to take as the tunnel became wider and larger. Soon scaffolding began to crop up here and there with platforms suspended in mid-air. He had still met no enemies and he was just beginning to relax when a plasma shot slammed him in the chest. Mega Man sprang to attention and began looking around. He quickly spotted a small robot very similar to the "little astronauts" from Crash Man's tower standing in the shadow of the scaffolding. Mega Man took aim to eliminate the little robot but was distracted when another shot came arcing from above. Looking up, he saw that the shots from above were coming from the top of the scaffolding meaning that he was under a two layered attack.

"Well this path is proving to be interesting, to say the least."

Mega Man disabled the robot below but could do nothing about the one that was above. Mega Man ran forward to avoid the arcing plasma balls and promptly slid out of control on the ice. He flailed his arms wildly as he was propelled down the tunnel and slammed into another support beam. He backed away as he tried to reorient himself but felt another plasma ball hit him on the helmet.

"They're everywhere. They're not very powerful but very annoying."

Carefully and slowly, Mega Man continued his way down the tunnel. He continued to dodge assaults from above and occasionally deal with robots below. Finally, he came to a wide place where the tunnel carried on but the path of lights was a bit slower. He looked around for other paths and found a tunnel above where the rapid movement of lights continued. He compared the two tunnels as best as he could and heard strange, clanging noises from the lower one. Mega Man summoned Item 3 again and climbed to the upper path.

He was surprised to see a barrier not far from the mouth of the tunnel. It was like a pile of pinkish red blocks that wouldn't move no matter how he pushed or shot with his buster. He knew one thing that might work but it was a dangerous move. He thought of going back down and trying the other, supposedly safer path but he was also very curious as to what was ahead now. Making up his mind, he backed up a bit and blasted a Crash Bomb at the barrier. He carefully but quickly backed all the way up to the mouth of the tunnel just as an explosion shook the entire area.

Mega Man felt the impact but managed to hold his ground. The ice in the tunnel was strong and thick meaning there was surprisingly little damage to it. The barrier on the other hand had crumbled to dust leaving the path open. With smoke and dust still in the air, Mega Man hurried forward and met no opposition. He could faintly make out the thumping below but met nothing to block his way or do him harm.

The terrain did not remain consistent for long. Soon his tunnel opened up into another cavern. Ahead of him floated a row of icy blocks suspended in mid air. This did not surprise Mega Man very much as Dr. Wily seemed to like floating blocks (he was just happy that these didn't vanish and reappear in annoying patterns). He was surprised to see what was below him in the area the "easy path" would have led to: a Sniper Joe was riding in a sturdy, laser equipped carrier on long heavy legs.

"Yikes, that doesn't look like fun" He said very quietly so as not to attract attention "I suppose the challenge is to stay up here if I don't want to wrestle with that monstrosity. Now if only I had some way to get across with little risk…oh wait I do."

With a smile on his face, he rode across the battlefield below and to the next tunnel on Item 2.

After only a short way, the tunnel ended in a large hole. Mega Man looked down it and observed a floor that didn't quite fill the whole shaft. He jumped down, lost his balance on the ice, and landed on his backside. He climbed to his hands and knees and peered over the edge of the hole. He leaned farther over trying to survey the area beneath and fell down to another sheet of ice. He figured out that it was a series of platforms leading down the shaft like a ladder.

Moving carefully, he moved down, further and further and further. He was just thinking that he must have gone deeper than the point he originally started at when he fell into a long, narrow cavern. Mega Man picked himself up and almost shouted when he saw more Sniper Joes in huge armored carriers. Preferring to save his energy for the unavoidable battle, Mega Man glanced around for another way to proceed. He saw some platforms and floating blocks high above the enemies and he needed to get up to them quickly before he was spotted.

It was already too late; one of the tall monsters was already approaching while firing powerful plasma bolts. Mega Man summoned the Item 3 and was soon climbing back up the wall. His speed wasn't quite ideal and he was soon dodging left and right on the small item to avoid being shot. He was almost to the first platform so he summoned and Item 2 and sailed right over the Sniper Joe's head. It tried to readjust its aim but before it could turn the carrier around, Mega Man had already scrambled onto the floating platform and was on his way.

Using a combination of careful balance and the support items, Mega Man crossed the long room. The enemies below would try to shoot him but he kept on the move and soon spied an oddly welcome site: a Wily Gate. Throwing caution to the wind, Mega Man jumped from block to block quickly and hurled himself at the gate. He slammed into it, flailed wildly to stay balanced as the gate opened, and ran through it.

He was standing in a square room with a pyramid of ice in the middle of it and Flash Man was standing at the top. His basic design was similar to Mega Man's but he was much bigger and had yellow accents in his armor, including the smooth top of his head. The non-buster hand was holding a tablet computer that he seemed to have been watching. He smirked at Mega Man and chuckled.

"You got here faster than I thought you would but at least you gave me a fun show. The ending was especially funny; all that scrambling about to avoid the big bad Sniper Joe's." Flash Man adopted a high and childish pitch as he went on "Oh no, stay away from little ole' me." He laughed and Mega Man grew angry.

"I just got a little carried away, that's all. I don't see why you guys put all of this in my way. I mean are Wood Man and Quick Man the only ones who actually want to fight me?"

"Oh we want to fight you but only if you prove yourself worthy of our time." He tossed away the tablet and aimed his buster at Mega Man "I personally still doubt it but it is in my programming to destroy you so I guess I'll do that."

The buster activated and sprayed plasma bullets like a machine gun in Mega Man's direction. A few projectiles hit their mark but Mega Man was able to duck beneath the rest. He aimed upwards at Flash Man and fired back. Flash Man winced as the shots struck him but his face quickly reformed as a grin.

"You killed my brothers with puny shots like that? How pathetic; they hardly seem worth avenging."

"How very touching" Mega Man sarcastically replied.

"I only fight for me and for Dr. Wily. It won't be long until I present him with your battered remains. It'll no time at all in fact."

As Mega Man tried to figure out what this meant two things happened immediately after the other. First, Flash Man vanished and in the same second Mega Man's body was struck from behind with a powerful blow. He crashed painfully to his hands and knees but had no time to recover. He was struck in his backside and propelled into the base of the pyramid. Laughter came from behind him and Mega Man saw that Flash Man had kicked him from there, despite his having been in another part of the room only seconds before.

"This place made me think that you were an ice robot but you seem to be more interesting than that. Did you teleport just now or did you run like Quick Man?"

"None of the above" Flash Man replied with his usual smirk.

Before Mega Man could even begin to puzzle this out he was crashing across the room, his body feeling the aftermath of a fresh plasma assault. Flash Man had moved as well and Mega Man was astounded.

"How did you do that? There was no…no…time…" his mouth hung a bit slack and his eyes grew bigger.

"I think you're getting there. Time Man was only the beginning, I'm the perfected version."

"Actually stopping time?! I didn't think that was possible."

"And yet Dr. Light is the one getting all the praise. It makes me pretty steamed."

Mega Man became much disorientated; he seemed to be on the other side of the ice pyramid and splayed out as if he'd been thrown from the top of it. In fact, he was sure that was what had just happened to him while Flash Man made use of his remarkable talent. The enemy robot was standing on top of the pyramid smiling down at Mega Man. Mega Man quickly sat up and adjusted his helmet. At this moment, Flash Man's smile turned upside down.

"What lovely hair" he observed with a venomous tone

"Seriously, the robot who can stop time is complaining about being bald?"

"Shut…" he didn't get to finish the command because a Metal Blade had just imbedded itself in his stomach.

Mega Man had taken the moment when Flash Man was vulnerable thinking about hair to use the strongest attack he could think of. Unfortunately, his foe was wounded but not defeated. Mega Man instantly felt the aftermath of another hail of plasma bullets. He looked around for Flash Man but was struck from behind by another wave. He tried to turn around and aim another Metal Blade but he staggered and dropped to his knees.

"I was right when I said pathetic" Flash Man said as he strolled towards Mega Man "I think it's about time to finish you…"

There was a loud clash of metal as something struck Flash Man from behind and he collapsed face first right in front of Mega Man. He was twitching but between the Metal Blade and this new assault, he wasn't long for this world. There was a large boomerang embedded deep in Flash Man's back and Quick Man was standing at the far end of the room

"I'm sorry but I haven't had my rematch yet. I hope you're ready for round two, Blue Boy."


	17. Cutting to the Quick

Chapter 16: Cutting to the Quick

"Quick Man?" Mega Man sputtered in surprise "What have you done?"

"What you do all the time. Oh sure, you bleat about your motives being all noble and junk but the end result is the same."

"I don't kill for selfish reasons. You did this just for a fight; one you've already had?"

"Ah but you've grown since then, in theory at least. It's time to put that into practice."

All this time Mega Man had been examining the wounded Flash Man. The horror and suddenness of what had happened brought on an instinct to help. There was, however, nothing Mega Man could do so he merely absorbed the Time Stop data. As he did, Flash Man's power gave out and he powered down completely.

"He's deactivated. You murdered your own brother!"

"I thought we'd established that" Quick Man replied "Can we move on now?"

"If I must I must but I can't fight you now. I'm too beat up to give you a decent match."

"You seem pretty intact to me so I think this should cover things." He turned into a blur which resulted in Mega Man holding an E Tank and Quick Man leaning against a wall nearby. "Drink up or I'll force it down you with no particular emphasis on being gentle."

Mega Man popped the tab on the can and took a long draft of the energy restoring mixture. Instantly, he felt the healing effects and he soon finished off the can. His reserves of power were restored to maximum and he stood up. Quick Man grinned and was instantly standing in front of his blue foe.

"Let's go." He grabbed Mega Man by both wrists and pulled him close. A teleport beam enveloped both robots and within seconds they were in a totally new location. The place seemed to be made of metal with many of the surfaces a reddish color. There was a pit in the floor with Quick Man already at the edge.

"Let me guess. I have to make my way through another insane obstacle course before we actually fight?"

"Yes and no. Since I plan to kill you I want to savor every second of this. I wonder how well you can keep up with me. I'll even go slowly at first, since I'm such a sweetheart."

He laughed manically as he leapt into pit and Mega Man had no choice but to follow. The drop wasn't that far and he landed in a sort of corridor with the floor divided into several different levels of height. Quick Man was already at the far end and Mega Man began jumping across the depressions in the floor to get at him. As he leapt across another small pit, he was surprised to see a boomerang flying at him. It struck him in a glancing blow that merely dented him but still ruined his landing. Mega Man came down sprawled on the floor with his legs over the pit. He crawled forward but had to roll to the side to dodge another boomerang.

Quick Man laughed and said "Are you surprised? I said I'd move slowly, I never said that the fight hadn't already begun. It just seems so boring to just wait behind a door to see if you'll survive my traps."

"So there aren't any traps?"

Quick Man simply smirked as he hurled another boomerang. Mega Man dodged and started firing but his foe was no longer there. He felt a boomerang hit him from behind. It glanced off of his shoulder and he almost fell into a pit. He spun to return fire but Quick Man had already returned to his original position at the far end of the corridor. Mega Man started forward but Quick Man was suddenly behind him. He shoved Mega Man forward and the hero tumbled into one of the deeper pits in the uneven corridor.

"I certainly hope you can do better than this" Quick Man called down "Of course, this is not without entertainment value."

Mega Man reacted partially on instinct; he pointed his buster upwards towards Quick Man and fired an Air Shooter. The mini-tornadoes struck Quick Man's light weight body carrying him up and away. Mega Man didn't wait around to see what followed as he was already using an Item 3 as a stepping stone to hop out of the pit. He hurried deeper down the strange passage and was just reaching the end when Quick Man blurred past him. The enemy robot actually stumbled a bit as he came to a stop on the edge of the drop to the lower levels but he regained balance quickly.

"That's a bit better." Without another word he slashed at Mega Man's throat with a boomerang held like a dagger. Mega Man ducked causing the weapon to scratch his helmet rather than him. While down he aimed a plasma shot into Quick Man's stomach but he was already on the move. He was behind Mega Man and twisting his arm up to hold him in an upright position. Mega Man struggled but Quick Man soon had him held fast.

"Can't quite reach around to shoot me, can you? I believe the term is check mate."

"Not just yet" Mega Man grunted as he snapped his head back as forcefully as he could. His helmet hit Quick Man hard in the face and the enemy robot slacked in grip in surprise. He spun around and blasted Quick Man who in turn fell backwards over the edge to the floor below. Mega Man jumped down and landed next to him. He tried to fire again but Quick Man was on his feet and attacking Mega Man with another boomerang in his hand.

Mega Man reacted by throwing up a Leaf Shield. Quick Man's projectiles bounced off of the whirling leaves no matter what angle he threw them from. However, the shield didn't last long and Mega Man was again on the move. This new area was large and quite dim in places. He hoped he could keep to the shadows but Quick Man was there first. He grinned and leapt over Mega Man dropping more boomerangs as he flew overhead. Mega Man raised another Leaf Shield and Quick Man shook his head.

"Still hiding behind the foliage, huh? You'll never win that way."

Mega Man tried throwing the shield at him but Quick Man lazily blurred out of the way. He leapt again to toss some boomerangs down at Mega Man but Mega Man fired another Air Shooter. Quick Man was carried high into the air before falling back to the ground with a crash. Mega Man tried to shoot him but Quick Man was already up and running to a safe distance. Mega Man tried to think of what to do but grunted in pain as a fist was suddenly buried deep in his belly. Quick Man vanished and in the next second was kicking Mega Man hard from behind. Mega Man sprawled to the floor but was knocked rolling by a side kick and then rolling the other way by another side kick.

It seemed that Quick Man was reaching an even higher gear and Mega Man barely had time to think anymore as the blows became even more frequent. "You've done well Blue Boy but now I'm going to end this right now."

Mega Man was totally disorientated and had no idea where Quick Man was anymore. He knew he was seconds from death and acted almost on instinct. He shouted "Time Stop" and activated the power he absorbed from Flash Man.

There was a flash of blinding purple light and suddenly all was silent, utterly silent. Mega Man had thought it was quiet before but now without even the sound of distant machinery or water in pipes or anything, it was downright creepy. The air was completely still and felt oddly tight. Mega Man wondered if he'd even be able to move but then he remembered that Flash Man had obviously moved around. He turned over and screamed out of shock. Quick Man frozen leaning close over him with a particularly sharp boomerang held near his throat. Mega Man had apparently just escaped decapitation.

He scurried backwards to get clear of the weapon and stood up. Mega Man suddenly had an idea; he touched Quick Man and tried to absorb his speed. However, it seemed that he couldn't absorb weapon data while time was stopped. He also found that his buster wouldn't work during the time freeze. In fact he began to notice a subtle drain on his power reserves and he made the decision to try to end the freeze.

The distant noises of the environment returned and Quick Man fell to the ground. He seemed stunned and, oddly enough, in pain. He climbed to a standing position but his movements were a bit sluggish. "What did you do?" he asked in shock and pain "You've moved and I feel weak. Almost like my energy reserves had been cut in half."

"The Time Stop actually hurt you?"

"Flash Man's power. Dr. Wily speculated something like that might happen. Well you won't do that again. Activate Force Beams!"

This last phrase was shouted to the room at large. The effect was instantaneous and Mega Man found himself dodging a laser beam that was almost as large as he was. Quick Man laughed and said "Trust me; you do not want to touch those things. They can be quite lethal."

As soon as he finished speaking, the floor split open in several places just as Mega Man dodged another beam. He fell into a newly formed crevice and plummeted into a strange shaft. It had many platforms suspended all the way down but in a puzzle like manner. Mega Man landed on the topmost one and saw several beams firing up on both sides. He panicked and stopped time again. The force beams were frozen in place, one almost touching him, and he took the opportunity to figure out what to do next.

He looked up and saw that the ceiling had snapped closed behind him before he activated the Time Stop. This meant he could only go down and so he began to hop downwards as quickly as he could. He wondered if Quick Man had been caught in the field of frozen time. In fact, he wondered what sort of range it had and if it was even logical that being in another room would save Quick Man. However, this was not the time for such thought. He was nearing the bottom of the shaft, he about a quarter of the way left, but keeping time frozen was beginning to be a strain. In fact as he landed particularly hard on a lower level, the jolt caused the spell to break.

He looked around in shock and ducked as a beam blazed over his head. As soon as that one had passed, he had to jump forward to avoid another one. They were becoming more numerous and frequent so he tried to move quick. Somehow, he managed to make it to the next level but ended up "dancing" on the spot just avoid being blasted. His weapon energy was running dangerously low but he had to do something. He mustered his strength and again shouted "Time Stop."

He was now standing in the middle of a cluster of beams. He ducked and crawled until he had a clear passage and began to book it to the bottom. Fortunately the beams seemed programmed to cluster in areas where he actually was so the way forward was clear. He touched bottom and looked around. The light was a bit dim but he saw a Wily Gate nearby and ran towards it. He released the Time Stop as he approached it and it opened at his touch. No force beams tried to kill him in here and he sighed with relief. He didn't have enough energy to stop time again.

After a few seconds, the gate opened again and Quick Man entered. Mega Man couldn't help grinning and saying "Normally there's a Wily Robot waiting for me behind the gate but this time it's the other way around."

"Har de har har. I see you survived the beams but I wonder if you have any of your secret weapon left."

"Which I'm sure was you're plan all along."

Quick Man simply smirked and leapt into the air. Mega Man ran to the side to avoid more boomerangs. He fired back with plasma shots which Quick Man easily dodged. He did seem possibly a touch slower and clumsier now but he was still a formidable opponent. He blurred past and knocked Mega Man to the ground. Mega Man didn't wait but simply fired over his shoulder. His prediction panned out and Quick Man screamed as the plasma shot hit him in the face.

"I thought you'd be back there trying to slice me up. You are actually quite predictable sometimes."

Quick Man growled and got to his feet. Before he fully had his balance, Mega Man shot out a leg and kicked Quick Man's ankle. He gasped in surprise as he toppled over again while Mega Man took aim with his buster. He fired several shots before being hit in the chest by a boomerang. He grunted as he was thrown onto his back.

By this time, both robots were very weak and having trouble standing up. Quick Man was dented all over and Mega Man had his share of marks as well. This fight wasn't going to last much longer but Mega Man was still concerned it wasn't going to end in his favor. He thought furiously trying to come up with a plan. The evidence of the recent shots and the previous Air Shooters was that Quick Man's body was pretty light and easily penetrated. This gave him an idea.

Both combatants had climbed to their feet and were staring each other down. Quick Man looked furious that he was doing this badly. Mega Man was gathering his remaining weapon energy and preparing his last gamble. He was tense and waiting for his enemy to do something. Quick Man did not disappoint; with a deep growl he hurled himself towards Mega Man who was almost knocked over again by the force of the attack. They grappled on the spot, each struggling to find some advantage over the other. Quick Man held a boomerang in each hand but Mega Man held him fast by the wrists. Despite being locked a desperate struggle, some part of Mega Man's brain decided to absorb Quick Man's weapon data. After this was accomplished, he suddenly forced Quick Man's arms open and kicked him in the middle. The robot staggered back and Mega Man fired a Crash Bomb into his chest.

"You…you little…" but Mega Man never found out what he was because the bomb exploded at that second. Pieces of Quick Man scattered all over the room and Mega Man collapsed onto his bottom.

"Rock calling Dr. Light" he spoke into his radio "Eight robots down and only Wily to go."

"Rock! Where have you been?"

"Quick Man took me on a little side trip but it's all good now."

"That's excellent my boy, well done indeed. I'll beam you home at once and get you ready for the final leg of this escapade. Oh yes, and you won't be alone."

"What?" He received his answer in seconds as he materialized in Light Labs. Grouped nearby were Dr. Light's Robot Masters: Guts Man, Cut Man, Ice Man, Fire Man, Elec Man, Bomb Man, Oil Man and Time Man.

Guts Man grinned and said "Don't look so surprised. We can't wait to help you stick it to Wily."


	18. Storming the Castle

Chapter 17: Storming the Castle

The cold wind made a soft rustling as it passed through the trees. The setting sun and the rising moon created a soft, somewhat eerie light. Nine robots stood on a mountain side gazing down into a valley dominated by a strange castle. It was a strange, imposing structure with a skeletal theme, including a large dome in the shape of a skull. Mega Man laughed a bit and his comrades looked at him.

"He's so sublte isn't he?" Mega Man joked

"Oh yes" Elec Man joined in "You'd never guess Dr. Wily lived here at all."

"Nope. Of course, that new button on the teleport panel helped."

"Are we going to stand around joking all night or do something?" Guts Man asked "I'm ready for some action."

"Ah'm ready as well, partners." Fire Man chimed in "It's high time Wily felt the flames of justice!"

Mega Man was about to say something when the group was distracted by an odd whistling sound cut of his words. He glanced up and saw Dr. Wily's flying saucer hovering overhead. The bots all struck fighting poses but the only response was laughter. The top of the shop opened and Dr. Wily himself rested his elbows on the side of the hatch.

"Well, well, well this is certainly more than I expected. You're not playing by the rules, are you? I wanted Blue Boy alone."

"We don't care what you want" Guts Man growled

"Yeah, I'm afraid we're cutting in on your plans" Cut Man chirped up. Everyone, Dr. Wily included, glared at him and groaned. He smiled sheepishly and didn't say anything else.

"Actually, this could be fun. My castle is more than prepared to take down anything Thomas can throw at me. Let the games begin!"

He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows up and down before ducking back into his saucer. The ship sailed away while weaving around the plasma shots, fireballs and whatever else the robots were throwing at it. The laughter continued to pour out of the saucer as it weaved its way to the castle and sank out of sight. Guts Man stomped in frustration, causing a balance disrupting tremor.

"Cool it man" Oil Man said as he climbed back to his feet "Save that energy for nailing that creep, not us."

"Let's go" Mega Man said and the march to the castle began. "And remember, our main priority is rescuing the senator."

Everyone agreed with various degrees of enthusiasm but no one slackened speed. As they ran, metal birds began to burst from the trees dropping eggs as they circled overhead. Naturally, these eggs burst open to reveal batches of smaller birds that tried to wear them down. Dr. Light's robots weren't much bothered by these nuisances and simply ploughed through, destroying birds as they ran.

"I certainly hope this isn't all" Bomb Man said as he swatted a bird aside "This party needs some pep!"

At this point they were approaching the outer wall around the castle. As Bomb Man finished speaking, the group was bombarded by a rain of plasma bolts. They glanced up and saw several Sniper Joes patrolling the top of the walls. Their shields were up but the next attack could come at any second.

"You just had to say something, didn't you?" Time Man said to Bomb Man

"Sorry for wanting some action" Bomb Man replied as he dodged the assault from above.

"Can't you do something more than just complain?" Oil Man asked Time Man

"Of course" The bells on his head rang and the enemy shots slowed to a crawl. Time Man pointed at one of the Sniper Joes and impaled it on a plasma arrow similar to the hand of a clock. "Well don't make me do all the work" he chided the others.

Mega Man said "Good work Time Man. Let's help him."

Every robot added their attacks to the mix and soon the wall was completely devoid of enemies. They were then surprised to discover the wall was also devoid of gates. Guts Man tried to punch his way through but had as little success as Bomb Man did on his turn.

"Man this thing is thick" Guts Man said "Don't worry, I'll get through."

"Yeah but you'll use up all of your energy in the process" Mega Man replied "And we don't need to blast any holes either. Let's just climb over with some Item 3s."

"Oh yeah, that sounds smart" Guts Man said in a subdued manner "I did kind of want to see it crumble though."

It only took a minute for the robots to reach the top of the wall. There was indeed room for all of them to stand as a group; obviously Wily did not want anyone getting past this point. This fact was made even more obvious by the terrain between the wall and the castle. The ground was covered in long, sharp spikes. The scene was only made more horrifying by the bodies of the Sniper Joes that were now impaled on the spikes near the wall.

"That's just messed up" Ice Man muttered

"It's seems that Wily wasn't kidding, his castle is ready for unwanted guests" Mega Man said "We, however, are equally ready to take on the castle. It's time once again to up Item 2 to good use." As he said this, a roar sounded from the direction of the castle and everyone jumped in surprise. Cut Man almost toppled over the edge onto the spikes but Bomb Man caught him. Mega Man went on "And apparently we need to move quickly."

"Yeah, towards whatever made that noise" Cut Man said but he climbed onto the offered board and they set off.

Suddenly, a jet of fire crossed their path and came within inches of hitting them. The mechanical dragon from the debate was now circling over head. Before anyone could speak, it breathed another jet of flame into the middle of the group and they had to bank their Item 2s to not get scorched. This upset the balance of the heavier bots and Guts Man was especially wobbly. He toppled and barely managed to grab another Item 2, leaving him suspended between two flying boards. Elec Man, who he'd been riding with, grabbed his ankles in an attempt to secure him while Ice Man and Cut Man grabbed his wrists on the other.

Fortunately, their speed had carried them to the castle. The Item 2s disappeared and they dropped onto spike free space in front of the doors. It seemed that the area immediately surrounding the castle was safe to stand on but the fall had left none of them standing. Guts Man had landed sprawled out on the bottom of the pile up and the rest were thrown off as he stood up in a rage.

"Let me at that overgrown turkey! I'll rip its wings off."

The dragon seemed to have heard because it circled low and hovered over them. It breathed again and Fire Man parried with his own jets of flame.

"Dang, this thing is tough. I think ya'll best get inside while I can still hold him off."

"No we need to stick together" Mega Man said. As he spoke, the ground gave way under his feet and he plunged through the trap door he had somehow triggered. Before anything else could happen, the ground had sealed again and he was gone. Everyone was stunned including Fire Man who was hit by the dragon's breath. Ice Man reacted first and the giant lizard recoiled from the arctic attack. Meanwhile, Guts Man was trying to rip open the ground where Mega Man had dropped.

I'm coming Rock!" the large robot shouted as the trapdoor opened to reveal a thick layer of metal. He punched it to no avail "Now I'm really angry."

"Then go find him" Fire Man grunted as he parried another jet of fire from the dragon's mouth. "I'll keep this fella distracted, ya'll get inside."

"Is it wise to split up?" Time Man asked but Guts Man was already forcing the castle doors open.

"It is if we can find Rock, who's with me?"

Ice Man said "Not me" Guts Man whirled but he quickly explained "I'm going to stay behind and help Fire Man with the dragon. Maybe my power can work on the fire breather. It seemed to a minute ago.

"Good luck" Oil Man called out as he followed Guts Man inside. The others wished the duo luck as well as they entered the castle as well. Now it was just Ice Man and Fire Man left with the mechanical dragon.

"Thanks for sticking around partner" Fire Man said as he dodged another breath

"No problem"

"Especially since you're so weak to heat and flames."

"Ok that's a problem" Ice Man said with a worried expression "I didn't think of that."

Any further conversation was stopped when the dragon swooped low and they had to hit the deck. They tried to fire up into the beast's belly but it was already on the move. A burst of fire raked the ground and they had to roll to the side. Ice Man stopped just short of the spikes and gave a shout.

"This is not cool."

"Leave the puns to Cut Man" Fire Man replied as he shot a Fire Storm upwards at the dragon.

"Yeah right" Ice Man said as he fired as well. The Ice Slasher hit the dragon in the side and it screamed in pain. It bore down upon him with breath on full blaze. Ice Man was quickly backed into the castle wall while Fire Man tried valiantly to rescue him. It whirled around and descended upon Fire Man. He found himself struggling with its claws and was soon shocked to find himself being carried into the air.

"Fire Man! He's got you."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

The dragon was circling around in the air. It flew high over the sea of spikes and dropped him. Fire Man was terrified as he saw certain death racing up towards him. Suddenly, he slammed into something hard. He realized it was a thick layer of ice that had formed over the spikes directly beneath him. Ice Man was quickly forming a bridge back to relative safety while poised to dodge an attack from the monster above.

"Thanks partner" Fire Man said as he carefully but quickly made his way across the ice bridge.

"You're welcome." He dodged yet another burst of fire and went on "This guy really doesn't have much in his bag of tricks, does he?"

"What more does he need? He's plenty dangerous already."

"Good point."

Fire Man was now on the grass around the castle and back on the offensive. Fireballs kept colliding in midair as they parried each other's attacks. Ice Man was hanging back and watching the battle intently. Fire Man grew a bit irritated and said "Well feel free to join back in at any time."

"I have an idea but I need a clear shot. If I time this right, it just might end this."

"Well don't wait too long. I'm wearing him down but he's wearing me down as well."

The dragon flared its wings and soared upwards. It opened its claws and seemed ready to try another physical assault. Ice Man took the moment to act; he fired with all the energy he could muster at the wide, hovering wings. The appendages froze solid and the beast plummeted like a stone onto the spikes. Its weight caused it to land very hard and the deadly points were driven deep into its body. The dragon screamed in agony and tried to free itself. However, it's flailing only caused even more damage and it soon stopped moving.

"Nice one" Fire Man said "Why didn't I think of something like that?"

"Well you sort of gave me the idea."

"Glad it ended up being him instead of me."

"You can say that again. Now let's go catch up to the others."

"I hope I have enough fight left in me. That sucker plumb wore me out."

"I feel a bit tired myself but what choice do we have."

They pulled the castle doors open and entered. Suddenly everything went black.


	19. Return of the Robots

**And I'm back. As an apology for yet another long gap in updates, this chapter is a bit longer than usual. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 18: Return of the Robots

"Rock! Rock, where are you?"

Guts Man's voice echoed through the not very large, round entrance hall of Wily's Castle. He and his comrades had just left Fire Man and Ice Man to deal with the dragon and he was ready for some action of his own. He was halfway across the hall before the others had even finished coming through the castle doors.

"Hey Guts Man" Cut Man called after him "Cut it out."

"I'm already angry enough without your puns."

"All I'm saying is we might want to be careful and not call attention to ourselves."

"Call attention to ourselves? Wily personally welcomed us in and there's a dragon outside!"

"I think what he means" Elec Man interrupted while he stepped in-between the glowering robots "is that we have no idea what's lurking in here and a little stealth could go a long way."

"Ok fine but let's be stealthy while being quick"

"That's cool man but which way do we go?" Oil Man asked as he indicated the many passages leading off of the hall

"Would it be wise to split up?" Time Man wondered

Elec Man pensively answered "I don't know. Maybe…look out!"

He was referring to the long screws that were no protruding from the walls and floors. They launched and the air was filled with sharp, lethal missiles which the robots frantically dodged. They could be destroyed with little difficulty but the air was so thick with them that it was hard to take aim. They were growing more numerous by the second and the robots were being forced to different parts of the room just to dodge.

"Can't you slow things down?" Bomb Man asked Time Man

"I could but I'd hate to keep using up my energy this early" he replied as he annihilated a screw with an energy bolt.

Across the hall, Guts Man was swatting screws out of the air like flies. He paused as he noticed an unwelcome sight in a nearby corridor. It was Mega Man struggling in the arms of a large blue robot with eyes in its torso rather than a proper face. Guts Man didn't know who the robot was but he also didn't care, all that mattered was saving Mega Man.

"Let him go!" the construction robot roared as he plunged into the corridor.

Cut Man, who had been standing nearby, shouted "No wait, it may be a trap" as he followed Guts Man. Once they had entered the passage a strong door slammed shut leaving only four robots behind in the main hall.

"That's not good" Elec Man said as he continued dealing with the flying screws while Oil Man covered him from behind. Oil Man was about to reply but he was distracted by a sight in another corridor.

"Wait, what was Guts Man chasing?"

"I think someone had Mega Man captured."

"Can't be because Mega Man is there!"

Elec Man spun around and gaped at the passage Oil Man was pointing at. Mega Man was bound and gagged in the arms of bulky robot resembling a tree stump. He turned towards where Bomb Man and Time Man were and shouted "Guys, we found Mega Man."

"No you didn't" Bomb Man shouted back "We did"

"What?"

"Indeed" Time Man added "He's being carried off by a strange robot."

"Yeah having spikes for hands is strange" Bomb Man said

"That's not what I meant"

"Which one's the real Rock?" Oil Man asked

"How should I know?" Elec Man said "I do know we're getting ripped apart here and Mega Man, whichever one he is, is still in trouble. Wily seems determined to split us up and I think we have no choice but to comply."

"I agree" Time Man answered "Good luck Elec Man, Oil Man. Bomb Man, let's go."

"Well, this should at least be interesting" Bomb Man said

Each duo turned in opposite directions, ducked around the screws, and chased after the captive Mega Men. Elec Man and Oil Man ran after their quarry and were gaining on the bulky robot. As they passed into a square room, Oil Man slid ahead of the enemy robot and barred his path.

"That's far enough, Pinocchio."

"Oh that's clever" the enemy replied with an eye roll "I certainly didn't ask Dr. Wily to make me out of real wood."

"Oh…I thought it was just a look. What's your name?"

"Wood Man"

"It's like a running gag."

"Never mind all of that" Elec Man cut in "release Mega Man now!"

"You mean this Mega Man?" he asked with a chuckle as he released the blue robot in his arms. The blue faded as did the holographic disguise and they stared at a regular Sniper Joe. It struck a fighting pose facing Oil Man but this left its back exposed to Elec Man which turned out to be a fatal mistake.

"Huh" Wood Man said "I thought that would last longer. Then again, I get to have my fun now."

"Stop running so I can clobber you!"

"You know that's such a tempting offer, I think I will stop. However, I do believe you will be the one I clobber. After all, Air Man can't be beaten…again."

Guts Man had chased Air Man into a large open space with the floor rising at different levels. Air Man leapt high above Guts Man and Cut Man and gazed down at them. He released "Mega Man" but it was a Sniper Joe that hit the floor. It quickly stood up and sprayed the robots with plasma bullets while Air Man laughed. While Cut Man tried to find a vulnerable spot, Guts Man simply ran forward and picked the Joe up. He slammed the robot to the floor and stomped on it for good measure.

"Not even a warm up. I guess I'll have to use you to burn off the rest of my anger!"

"Ha ha ha" Air Man boomed "Good luck with that"

Guts Man jumped but was forced backwards by a wall of whirling wind. Cut Man slammed into the wall at the back of the room while Guts Man bounced across the floor. He righted himself and ran towards Air Man only to be repelled again. Cut Man tried to strike with a Rolling Cutter but a third wave of tornadoes sent the blade flying harmlessly into a random corner.

"Ha ha ha, I thought you were going to clobber me. What's the matter? Can't you reach me?"

"Shut it! I'm not going to be defeated by wind!"

"Big words" Cut Man interjected "but he'll get us eventually if we can't cu…" Guts Man glared at him and he hastily said "I mean get through the whirlwinds."

"I'll get through; I just have to be smart."

Cut Man gulped and said "We're doomed."

"I believe this will be far enough. I'm Crash Man; it's so nice to meet you."

The polite greeting stunned Time Man and Bomb Man into silence. They were in a cavernous hall filled with columns; a little like standing in a stone forest. Crash Man was smiling mildly at his foes while gripping an unconscious Mega Man in his arms. Time Man was the first to recover and he spoke in an equally calm, polite tone.

"It is indeed a pleasure. Would you be so kind as to release our friend? We don't wish to fight you."

Bomb Man glanced at Time Man but didn't say anything. Crash Man flashed a wide smile as he let Mega Man drop to the floor. Bomb Man ran forward to grab him but was blasted by the Sniper Joe's bullets. Crash Man laughed manically and fired bombs into the columns flanking Time Man. Acting more on instinct than thought; he slowed time and made his way through the flying rubble. Time resumed its normal flow and fired a plasma arrow at Crash Man. The laughing robot shoved the Joe in the way and he raised his shield just in time to block Time Man's blast.

"That was close" Time Man remarked "Bomb Man, are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just surprised. I guess this party is going to be a bit rough."

"Indeed"

"You say that like it's a bad thing" Crash Man exclaimed "I think it's going to be a blast."

He leapt high into the air and rained spiked bombs down on the others, the Sniper Joe included. The explosions mingled with his psychotic laughter as he landed and immediately jumped again. More bombs rained and it was only Time Man's power that allowed the heroes to dodge the assault. As Crash Man returned to earth in slow motion, Bomb Man seized the opportunity to leave a bomb where he'd land. As time resumed its normal speed, the bomb went off right as Crash Man landed on it.

"Oh yeah!" Bomb Man shouted as he punched the air "Take that, jumping bean!"

Time Man silently peered through the smoke while Bomb Man continued to congratulate himself. Soon the air cleared enough to reveal Crash Man, battered but intact. He climbed to his feet and smiled at his foes.

"That was an excellent, if somewhat underhanded, tactic. I'm impressed."

"Um…thanks" Bomb Man replied in confusion

"You're welcome. I hope you don't mind but now have to retaliate by tearing you to pieces. I hope that's not inconvenient."

"Um…actually it would…oh boy" Bomb Man said as he dodged another round of spikes from Crash Man.

"I hope the others are having a better time that we are" Time Man said

Elec Man gritted his teeth and fired off a massive Thunder Beam. Wood Man yawned and actually looked bored as he surrounded himself with another Leaf Shield. At the same time, the usual rain of lethal leaves began and Oil Man began running around trying not to get hurt.

"How the volt do leaves keep blocking lighting!?" Elec Man shouted in frustration

"I don't know" Oil Man replied as he dodged flying leaves "Maybe you're doing it wrong."

"Doing it wrong? Why I…I have been doing it wrong!"

"Huh?"

Elec Man grinned and stopped his attack. Wood Man raised an eyebrow in confusion but Elec Man just continued to smile.

"Ok that's a bit creepy" Wood Man remarked "Take this!"

He hurled the Leaf Shield forward and Elec Man sidestepped it. Wood Man himself leapt toward him but Elec Man and Oil Man just ran under him to the other side of the room.

"You know" Elec Man said in a calm voice "You're annoying but really predictable."

"So what? You still can't hurt me."

"Yeah Elec Man" Oil Man said "Maybe getting him angry isn't the best idea."

"Oh I don't know. I think it's a pretty slick idea."

"Shut up!" Wood Man roared as he filled the room with more leaves and his enemies had to dodge wildly. Oil Man slid to the other side of the room and Wood Man leapt after him, only to slip and fall down once he landed in Oil Man's oil trail.

"What the…." Wood Man tried to stand up but slipped again and covered himself in more oil. In fact, by now most of the room was covered in black gold.

"Oil Man, get over here quickly" Elec Man shouted "But once you do get free of the oil slicks."

Oil Man obeyed and Wood Man's eyes opened in horror as he realized what Elec Man was about to do. "Sorry for using such a crude method but we win!"

He zapped the oil covered floor and the room erupted in flames. Wood Man screamed as his wooden body was quickly incinerated. Rather than watch the robotic carnage, Elec Man hurried down the corridor to where a scared Oil Man was already waiting.

"Dude that is one messed up plan. I could have gone up too!"

"I know but it was the quickest way and you were a big help. Every time you dodged and attack you slide on a trail of oil. We make a pretty good team."

"I guess so. Although I have one rule for if this partnership is going to work."

"Oh?"

"Slick idea and crude method? Leave the bad puns to Cut Man."

"Deal."

Guts Man ran forward and managed to roll underneath another round of tornadoes. He popped up and punched the platform with all of his might. The structure shook and Air Man struggled to keep his balance. He stood on the edge and aimed straight down to try to hit Guts Man but he was already continuing his assault on the wall. The entire thing crumbled and Air Man tumbled to the ground.

Guts Man jumped free of the rubble and landed right next to his foe. He grinned and raised a fist over Air Man but he suddenly released another tornado. Being flat on his back, he wasn't able to suck in as much air as normal but it was enough to knock Guts Man off balance. Air Man struggled to his feet and faced Guts Man.

"You think that's enough to defeat me? Take this!" He unleashed a gale that sent Guts Man bouncing over the debris from his previous attack. Air Man laughed as he watched the construction robot get battered by wind and rubble but suddenly screamed. Sparks flew from his torso fan as a Rolling Cutter entered it from behind. The fan was trashed and Air Man convulsed in shock and pain.

"Arrgh, why you little…oh no" His eyes widened as he saw Guts Man hurrying towards him with his fist drawn back "Not again"

Any further words were drowned out by a flurry of punches. The supposedly unbeatable Air Man dropped to the ground as a battered mass and Guts Man raised his arms in triumph. "Yeah I did it! It was tough but I did it!"

"Oh yeah, you did it" Cut Man said "It's not at all like a partner delivered a crucial blow."

"Aw of course I can't forget you. Come here buddy!"

He threw an arm around Cut Man's shoulders in an affectionate side hug while Cut Man struggled to even stay on his feet.

"Ok, ok, you're welcome. Maybe we should just move on and celebrate later."

"Good idea. Let's go find Rock!"

Crash Man's maniacal laughter echoed thorough the columned chamber as Time Man and Bomb Man danced around flying debris from the latest explosion.

"He's insane!" Time Man exclaimed

"How is this news to anyone?" Bomb Man retorted

Time Man's response was drowned out by a column exploding right next to him. More and more debris was beginning to fall from the ceiling but Crash Man seemed unaware of this fact. "Aww, you boys look scared. GOOD!"

Time Man and Bomb Man had wound up on opposite sides of Crash Man and were now cautiously circling him trying to think of a plan. His grin grew wider and he said "Time for the spin cycle!"

He began to turn on the spot with increasing speed spraying out exploding spikes all the time. Bomb Man and Time Man could dodge but the columns couldn't. Time Man shouted "You're going to kill us."

"That's the idea you overgrown pocket watch!"

"I was including you in that us!"

His words immediately began to come true as a large section of the ceiling started to collapse. Crash Man's eyes grew wide in shock as he was buried in large blocks of stone. Time Man used his Time Slow to get himself to safety but he wasn't able to get Bomb Man inside the field. Once he was at a safe distance, he resumed the normal flow of time and shouted "Bomb Man, are you ok?"

There was silence for a few sick seconds before the rubble shifted and Bomb Man began to climb out. "That's one party I wish I hadn't been invited to."

"Thank goodness."

"I was built for demolition; I can take a little thing like a collapsing ceiling. I'm not sure that our friend was built the same way. However, just in case…" He straddled a wide crack right over the buried Crash Man dropped a Hyper Bomb into it. "Now let's get out of here."

Leaving one final explosion in their wake, the duo ran for the far end of the room and dashed through the exit.


	20. Deeper into Trouble

Chapter 19: Deeper into Trouble

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Ice Man said

"How should I know?" Fire Man responded

"Well I'm glad you're here" Ice Man said

"Aww thanks partner!"

"No thank you for lighting things up with your head."

"Uh…don't mention it."

"Hey" a new voice boomed "You're supposed to be scared. You're ruining my dramatic entrance!"

Across the room, a large mass began to glow like an ember. Within seconds the glow had become a large fireball with a shape inside it. Ice Man said "Is that…a box with arms?"

"I see a head" Fire Man added

"I am Heat Man!" the flames grew brighter than ever as the robot struck a pose "I may have been defeated once but now I'm going to prove that I am…I am…oh boy" The flames went away and the heroic duo heard Heat Man's lid slam shut. They managed to make out his muffled words "I thought Dr. Wily repaired me but I still tend to overheat."

"Overheat?!" Fire Man said incredulously "What kind of robot based off of my design would overheat?"

"I'm still hot enough to take you on" Heat Man declared "Let's see who's the better once and for all."

"Oh I'm gonna whup you good partner!"

"Uh should I…" Ice Man began but he was totally ignored by the two fire type robots as they charged at each other "Stand right here? That's what I thought."

"Atomic Fire!" Heat Man shouted as he caused walls of flame to sprout up in Fire Man's path. The charging Light Robot stopped in his tracks only to be bowled over by Heat Man's fire ball mode.

"Argh. Ok that is some fancy maneuvering but this isn't my first rodeo!"

He climbed to his feet and spun around. As Heat Man began charging up for another attack, Fire Man rushed forward and screamed "Fire Storm!"

The inferno erupted from Fire Man's arms and engulfed Heat Man inside his box. "Hey, that's cheating!"

"If you can't take the heat, then stay out of the kitchen."

"Wow" Ice Man said as he watched what he could make out from the illumination of the attacks "Fire Man is really tearing into him. I may not be needed here."

As he spoke, Heat Man rolled to the side and slammed to the floor. In this position most of the Fire Storm missed him and he was able to strike back an Atomic Fire. Fire Man was unprepared for this turn of events and a fire wall formed right under his feet.

"Yeowch! Talk about a hot foot!"

"Fire Man" Ice Man called out "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am." As he said it, he was knocked over again by the flying fire ball mode. As he tried to climb to his feet again, Heat Man came flying from behind and Fire Man was thrown onto his face.

Heat Man landed and opened his lid. "Heh heh, where's your confidence now Cowboy?"

"Right here" he replied as he climbed to a kneeling position "Fire Storm."

"Atomic Fire!"

Fire Man moved backwards and positioned himself between the fire walls while his own attack broke through. Heat Man gasped as he was once again surrounded by enemy fire. "No! My attack is supposed to be superior."

"Ah put a sock in it, Zippo."

"I…need to… cool off" Heat Man dropped to his knees and his Atomic Fire dyed down. The Fire Storm however only increased in intensity as Fire Man stood up and continued the torrent. "Hey dude…too…hot…"

Heat Man fell over and closed his eyes but Fire Man kept it up. Ice Man shouted "Hey that's too much, I think its over."

Fire Man ended the attack but smoke continued to pour from Heat Man's body. "Yeah I think he's cooked. I might have overdone it a bit."

"Ya think? I don't feel like I'm going to faint. It's too hot in here."

"You could have moved on and looked for Rock."

"It's still dark in here. I can't just run blindly through Wily's Castle."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get to where you should be" a voice said

"I think I've heard that voice before" Fire Man said as he held his light busters higher to extend the circle of light. A grinning robot with a boomerang on his head was revealed, half in light half in silhouette

"Hi" Quick Man said confidently before going to work.

"Ok, I officially hate trapdoors! How long have I been wandering around in these tunnels anyway?"

Mega Man was walking aimlessly through the sewer he had been deposited into. It was dimly lit with slimy walls and wet floors meaning he had to walk very carefully. Several times already he'd almost slipped into spike filled pits, some of them possibly the same ones over and over as he felt like he was going in circles.

"At least there haven't been any enemies yet but then again they'd break the monotony nicely."

As he said this he heard a noise down a side tunnel. He turned and thought he saw something large moving in the shadowy distance. "Who's there?"

The figure didn't answer but moved further away. Rock hesitated; if it was one of his friends they would have answered. However, it was the first new thing to happen and it might lead him out of here. He decided to follow and take his chances.

As he walked, he heard a strange sound up ahead. It was as whatever he was following was hopping rather that walking. As he was pondering this, he heard a large splash. "Huh, that's weird…ahhhh!"

The floor had suddenly sloped away and he fell into a pit filled with water. His eyes adjusted just in time to notice that the walls were lined with spiked balls. He flailed around to get away from the wall but saw more spikes behind him has he glanced over his shoulder. He flailed even more in a desperate effort to stay in the middle of the shaft. He was relieved to land in an open space at the bottom. It was a huge reservoir with holes in the floor and spikes balls on the walls.

"Anyone here?"

"It's just a blast from your past here to burst your bubble." Mega Man turned towards the voice and saw Bubble Man standing nearby. "It's time to finish this."

"It was finished; I beat you fair and square."

"Who cares about that? This is my second chance and I'm going to take it."

"It really could be a second…oh never mind." He sighed and fired a buster shot.

Bubble Man jumped over it and swam towards Mega Man spewing Bubble Lead's all the time. Mega Man jumped and let the water carry him over Bubble Man. He was coming down near a pit when a large, mechanical fish leapt out of it with frightening speed. Ironically, it was the currents created by the monster that forced Mega Man away from it.

"I thought you wanted to finish me off by yourself Bubble Man!"

"Did I ever say that? So what if I have a few pets to make things more interesting. It's just another way to fulfill my purpose."

With that he fired a series of plasma shots while swimming a wide circle around Mega Man. The blue bot did his best to fire back while dodging but his buoyancy was making this difficult and some enemy shots found their target. Mega Man jumped when he saw a large bubble rolling towards him. He fired several shots not only trying to hit Bubble Man but to propel him over the fish pit and into a more advantageous area. He landed in a largish space between two such pits and hurled a Metal Blade at Bubble Man.

"Ouch!" the aquatic android screamed as the disk nicked his left side and tore a small but noticeable gash through him. "You filthy barnacle!"

As he frantically attempted to close the opening in his body, Mega Man took the opportunity to fire more Metal Blades. "Looks like I found your weakness on the first try."

"My weakness?" Bubble Man said as he swam above the projectiles "This isn't a game."

"Well that's how it's tended to work, interestingly enough. Even back when…"

"Shut up!" Bubble Man fired while Mega Man was distracted by his dialogue and the blue bot took a hit. He was thrown backwards towards a pit and he gasped in horror as he saw teeth spreading below him.

"Watch out dude" Oil Man shouted "There's another one up there."

"I know" Elec Man replied as he managed to dodge the spiked crusher as it fell from the ceiling before slowly cranking back to its original position. "This would be a lot easier if you weren't making the path so slippery."

"Hey, I didn't design myself."

"Yes but you could walk rather than sliding everywhere."

"Ok chill dude. Let's just get through this hallway of horror."

"Ok. You know, I believe Rock mentioned running into these…crushers…in Metal Man's area."

"I hope we don't run into him. Metal Blade is just nasty."

Elec Man started to reply but instead he said "There's one above you!"

"Oh man!" Oil Man reacted by rolling to the side and found he was almost directly under another one. "It's twins!"

"Just stay there in the safe zone." Elec Man watched the first crusher carefully and then took his chance to run under it. "Not yet…" he watched the second one with equal care before saying "Now together!"

Elec Man and Oil Man ran under the crusher just as it narrowly missed them.

"Nice" Oil Man said "It's a good thing we didn't lose our cool."

"Yeah…nice."

They moved further down the corridor and found no obstacles. Just as they were beginning to find this creepy, they encountered a dead end with only a hole in the floor.

"Well, that looks inviting" Elec Man said as he tried to peer into the depths below them.

"We can't go back though."

"Actually we could and then take another path in the entrance hall."

"Yeah but Rock went down and we're looking for Rock."

"That does make sense and Dr. Wily doesn't seem the type for instant death traps…at least I don't think he is."

"You just had to say that last bit, didn't you?"

"Do we go down?"

Oil Man said "I say we do. We gotta do it!"

"Yes, to find Rock."

"And because that wall just closed behind us."

Elec Man turned around and indeed their path backwards was blocked "In that case, onward and downward."

"Geronimo!"

They plummeted down into the darkness but saw light again quickly. They landed in a well lit square room. The walls and floors were comprised of pink blocks and there was no visible way out except back up the shaft they'd dropped through.

"I think this is a trap after all" Oil Man said

"Of course it's a trap; I just didn't think it would be an instant death one."

Oil Man rolled his eyes and continued to examine the room "What do you think we're supposed to do?"

"I don't…look out."

Two blocks were moving outward from opposite walls and changing shape. They became more mechanical in appearance and flew towards each other. They met in the middle and linked up to form a square machine with armored sides and a glowing orb in the center, like a camera or an eye. Once formed, it threw itself towards Elec Man and slammed him to the ground.

"Are you ok dude?"

"Yes but look out its coming back."

Oil Man dodged the robot but noticed something disturbing "Oh man, another one is forming. This is not going to be fun."


	21. Battling the Castle

**Why didn't I think of using those lines before? I feel dumb lol Oh well, at least I'm updating again. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 20: Battling the Castle

"Argh" Mega Man grunted as he slammed into the floor and watched the fish robot sink back into the pit. He had fired his buster wildly and changed course at the last second and avoided being a snack. "That was close."

"Don't relax yet" Bubble Man shouted as he swam into view above him "This isn't over."

He fired a storm of plasma and bubbles down on Mega Man before he could stand up. Mega Man used Leaf Shield with mixed results; the leaves did block most of the assault but the water stopped them from swirling around properly. Mega Man wasn't feeling picky however and was just grateful he was given a chance to semi-safely return fire. He pointed up between the mass of leaves and bubbles and fired a barrage of Metal Blades.

Bubble Man began to swim away but a few blades still hit him. He screamed as he sank to the floor of the reservoir leaking oil and acid for his bubbles. He did the bottom with a dull clunk and groaned. "Curse that…Metal Man…and curse…you…"

"Forgive me for having to do this again" Mega Man said sadly as he pointed his buster at Bubble Man's head and finished him off.

Pushing his conflicting feelings aside, Mega Man carefully crossed the remainder of the reservoir, avoiding spike balls and chomping fish, and discovered a series of platforms leading upwards and out of the water.

* * *

"Ok Dr. Wily, what else have you got for me?"

"Where are we?" Cut Man asked

"Hmm, let me just consult my map of the castle and tell you…I have no idea! All I know is that it's dark" Guts Man replied

"You can cut the sarcasm."

"I'm already in a bad mood so if I hear one more pun…do you feel rumbling?"

"Yeah"

Suddenly, what seemed to be a giant pair of lights came on a ways off. Within seconds other lights in the area started to turn on and the duo saw that they were in a large hanger. The lights were actually eyes and they were in the head of a giant Guts Man. At least it was the head, arms, and torso of Guts Man; the lower portion was a large platform on caterpillar tracks. A small portion of this tank like platform jutted out in front and the shoulders had spikes on them.

Cut Man gazed up in awe at the machine rolling towards them but Guts Man was seething. "He ripped me off! That thing looks like me!"

"I'm more worried about what it's going to do to us rather than what it looks like."

"Oh I have plans for what I'm going to do to it!"

Guts Man rushed forward and began pummeling the machine at a point between the massive treads. The metal buckled but didn't break as the giant tank slowed down under the assault. He continued to pound and punch while Cut Man stared in awe. However, Guts Man was quickly distracted as something hit him on the head.

"What the…?"

"It's chest spit out a Met!" Cut Man declared "And here comes another one!"

"These things are annoying…" he growled as he tried to swat away Mets. Fortunately, the tank had stopped rolling and he avoided being run over. He kicked Mets left and right but more kept coming. "How many are in there?"

A Met lifted its helmet to attack but a Rolling Cutter disabled it. "Guts Man, I'll take care of these guys and you take care of your clone up there." Guts Man growled and glared at Cut Man "Yeah great anger but focus on the Met spewing tank, not me."

"Ok! Time to die you copy cat!"

He jumped onto the platform jutting out in front and was instantly hit with a plasma shot from the beast's mouth. As he was still staggering from that, another Met jumped out of the chest and caused Guts Man to trip. He landed on his back and took more plasma to the stomach.

"Ok is this all this thing does? How dare it take my image and not have more tricks!"

"From what I can see, it's enough" Cut Man said as he continued to battle Mets

"Are you kidding? It takes more than plasma and hard hats to stop me!"

He stood up and punched the tank's chest with all his might. The metal was dented but not broken. "Oh that's some tough armor but I'm not through yet."

As he was talking, a group of Mets began to crowd around him and threatened to make him loose his balance. He wobbled comically for a moment before falling onto his side and rolling onto his face. Before he could even move he was being bombarded by plasma from the Mets and the Tank.

"Ok this is getting really old really quick!"

* * *

Elec Man dodged one pink square bot while Oil Man dodged the other. "Dude, these things are annoying."

"Your grasp of the obvious never ceases to amaze me."

"No need to be so harsh."

"Sorry, just stressed." As one robot flew at him, he roasted it with a Thunder Beam. It exploded and Elec Man grinned "That certainly helped though."

"Cool. Sadly I don't think lubricating them is going to help."

"Good point. I'll try to take them out quickly."

As they were talking, two more sections of the wall came loose and flew together. These were near the floor and Elec Man had to jump to not get hurt by the forming robot. It flew towards its partner and they began to orbit Oil Man.

"This is kinda creepy."

"I'll get them" Elec Man said as he held his sparking hands in front of him. He chose his moment and fired. He did manage to hit one of the floating squares but only narrowly missed hitting Oil Man as well.

"Yow, that was close."

"Sorry…oh no here comes another one" another square was forming from floor and ceiling segments "This is ridiculous, we're fighting a room."

"A room that seems to have a crush on me" Oil Man said as he tried to run from the pink squares "Leave me alone, go pick on him."

"This complicates things a bit" Elec Man said as the robots continued to stalk and attack Oil Man

* * *

"Hey Time Man, where are you?"

"I'm down here" a voice called up through the floor just in front of him "I fell through another hole disguised by a floor hologram."

"Oh man, this place is like the world's worst fun house."

"I'm sure Dr. Wily is having fun watching us" Time Man said as Bomb Man reached through the supposedly solid floor and pulled him up

"Yeah I'm sure he's busting a gut."

"I see another ladder over there" Time Man pointed down the corridor "Hopefully; it will lead to an end to this madness."

"Asking that of Wily's Castle is like asking a party to be boring. Anyway, let's boogie."

"Indeed let's…boogie."

They jumped over the hole in the floor before slowly and carefully making their way over to the ladder. They climbed it, walked along a short passage and found another ladder leading down. Knowing there was no other option; they started down with Bomb Man in the lead.

"Oh you are not going to believe this?"

"What?"

"There's just a small moving platform to stand on, that's it?"

"What's beneath it, a sheer drop?"

"Nope, a bed of spikes."

"One must wonder how Dr. Wily gets around his own castle?"

"That's the closest thing I've heard you ever say to a joke."

"What joke?"

"Never mind" Bomb Man said with a sigh "Let's just move on. Here it comes; we'll have to be quick."

They dropped down next to each other on the small platform and managed to stay on. "Look Bomb Man, there's another ladder down there."

"Yeah but the way there is fill with…flying silver hamburgers."

"I'll stop them, just be ready to jump onto the ladder." Purple energy arrows filled the air and the flying enemies were toast. They leapt onto the ladder and climbed down to see another platform moving in a complex pattern "Oh my gears and starters…"

* * *

"Surprised to see me, Mega Man?"

"Not really considering I just left Bubble Man back there."

He was standing in a large room across from Metal Man. The dark Robot Master was posing dramatically but now looked annoyed. "And you probably murdered him just like your defective friends did to the others."

"Oh good!"

"What? How can you call that good? I thought you were the good guy who hated fighting!"

"I mean it's good that they're doing alright. I knew they would be."

"Oh I don't know if I'd say alright. You certainly won't be alright once I'm through with you. Let's do this!"

"Ok! Metal Blade!"

The discs ripped right through Metal Man's body and he collapsed in a heap. "Defeated by…my own..weapon…again…"

"Oh wow that was quick. Well I should keep moving and find Senator Camp. I can't believe I almost forgot about him."

"Duck now Oil Man"

"Sure thing"

A duo of squares was destroyed and another square started to form. Elec Man, however, spotted them, held his arms out in opposite directions, and blasted both segments before they could join up.

"That was awesome, Elec Man!"

"Thanks. Surely there won't be many…oh for volts sake!" Another block formed at high speed and threw itself across the room at him. He was pretty low on energy and didn't react in time to dodge it. He was slammed to the ground and the block floated above him. Before it could slam down on him, he lifted a hand and summoned up yet another Thunder Beam. The block exploded and no more formed.

"I…I think it's over" Oil Man said "And about time, this place is starting to look like Swiss Cheese."

"There isn't much floor left, is there?" the tired Elec Man responded

"Not much of anything. I'm sure we can find a way out of here now and I'll take care of things now."

Before anything else could happen everything went black for the two robots. In no time at all, the remains of the room was empty.

* * *

"Ok, let's cut this thing down to size" Cut Man shouted as he fired a Rolling Cutter at the tank's eyes. It found its mark and the right eye shattered in a shower of sparks and glass. He followed it up with another cutter to the left eye with the same results. "Banzai!"

Unable to see, the tank stopped releasing Mets and plasma shots. Guts Man leapt into action and knocked all of the Mets away from himself. "It's my turn! You're not the only one who can pull of headshots."

He picked a remaining Met up by the helmet and hurled it with all of his strength at the tank's head. It tore right through and came out the other side. Guts Man jumped onto the right arm and then jumped onto the head. A few punches later and the head was a detached, misshapen pile of scrap. Guts Man jumped back onto the floor in front of the tank and made the V sign for victory.

"Wow that was awesome Guts Man!"

"Yes it was. Of course, you helped a little."

"You call blinding it and finding a weak point helping a little."

"Yeah but I killed it."

"Oh just cut out that bragging!"

"Those puns…"

"Might I cut in here?" a new voice said as Quick Man blurred into view

* * *

"Finally!" Bomb Man declared as they saw a gate ahead of them "Looks like we're don't with all this funhouse mess."

"Don't count on it" Time Man said as they approached the gate

They passed through it to find themselves in a narrow stone corridor that split into opposite directions after a few yards. There seemed to be more twists and turns beyond that with some walls being made of some other material than stone and not all of them even going up all the way to the ceiling. The most interesting feature was that there were odd mechanical orbs attached to the walls and tucked into alcoves.

"Is this a maze?" Bomb Man asked in anger "Invisible floors, twisting platforms and now a maze; this really makes me mad!"

"Watch out!" Time Man shouted as the nearest orbs simultaneously fired lasers at them

"Oh this just gets better and better" Bomb Man said as he dodged beams.


	22. So Near and Yet so Far

Chapter 21: So Near and Yet So Far

"This is not my idea of a party" Bomb Man said as he dodged another round of lasers

"There's not much time between them" Time Man said "We have to destroy those orbs if we're going to safely navigate the maze." He fired one of his arrows at the nearest orb but it had no effect. "That's disappointing…it's going to fire again!"

"We'll see about that! Hyper Bomb!"

The bomb hit the nearest orb and utterly destroyed it up on explosion. Not only did the orb blow up but the sections of wall that wasn't stone shattered as well opening up a new path.

"Let's go!"

The duo ran through the opening and this helped them escape some of the lasers. Unfortunately the passage they were now in had orbs of its own. They were firing at the same time as the ones they had left behind. Time Man's quick action saved them and the beams were now approaching in slow motion.

"Good work Time Man."

"You did well as well, Bomb Man."

"Dang right I did! We're going to show this maze who's boss."

"Um…indeed."

* * *

"Oh look a big empty room with platforms and crates scattered about." Mega Man said as he looked around "It almost looks like it's time for another robot master encounter"

Suddenly, he was on the floor and feeling the effects of a blow to the back of the head. In the time it would take to blink, he was staring at the ceiling in another part of the room as if he'd been kicked and rolled there.

"Hello Flash Man"

"Don't act like you're all cool when you're lying there like that" Flash Man said as he strolled into view. "You didn't even beat me before."

"Yeah that's true; I never thought Quick Man would do that."

Flash Man closed his eyes and growled "Quick Man. Just thinking of him makes me…ouch!"

His eyes flew open to find a Metal Blade lodged in his chest. The wound was sparking wildly and releasing smoke. The next thing Mega Man was aware of was lying on his side on a crate and feeling the effects of many plasma shots. "I guess I should have known it wouldn't be that easy."

"Of course it's not going to be easy! I'm most awesome of Dr. Wily's robots and I'm going to prove it by beating you to death inch by inch."

"Then why did Quick Man take you out in one shot?"

"Shut it! Quick Man isn't so great. Why he couldn't…woah!"

Mega Man was now sitting against the far wall and wincing in pain. Flash Man was feeling the gash in his shoulder formed by another Metal Blade. He ground his teeth in pain and frustration.

"Quick Man would have dodged that" Mega Man said as he stood up and ducked behind a large crate.

"Do you think hiding will save you from me?" One Time Stopper later he was pointing his buster at Mega Man "Quick Man wouldn't even be able to navigate the room. His so called special power would slam him all over the place."

"You seem to be a bit obsessed" Mega Man said

"Wouldn't you be if your own partner…gah!"

Another Metal Blade was lodged in his stomach and he dropped to his knees. "Curse you…"

"I hate using these tactics but I have to find Senator Camp and my friends."

A strange smirk spread across Flash Man's face "Your friends?" He looked up and grinned maliciously "Your friends need all the help they can get."

"What?"

"Oh yes, Quick Man and I have been dealing with them…as much as I hate to work with the jerk."

Mega Man's worried expression turned to one of anger "Ok, now I'm going to get really serious."

"Oh, the great hero taking revenge?"

"I'm ending this fight so I can help them!"

He was instantly in a different part of the room with his body showing definite signs of abuse. Flash Man was standing over him "Oh really? We'll just see about that!"

Mega Man reacted on instinct with a volley of buster shots but Flash Man side stepped them and kicked him. Mega Man rolled across the floor but stopped facing Flash Man and fired another Metal Blade. In a second, Mega Man was slammed against a crate and the blade was harmlessly imbedded in the far wall.

"Come on" he groaned "How many times can you do that? I know it has a limit for me."

Flash Man laughed arrogantly "As if you even compare to me."

"Then why am I winning?"

"Winning!" Mega Man found himself sliding down the wall and feeling like he'd been slammed against it "You got lucky a few times" Mega Man was now covered in more dents and scratches from a plasma rapid fire "I will crush you!" One more Time Stopper found Mega Man on the floor and showing real damage.

"Ouch" he said in a low voice. Then talking louder he said "You are indeed talented. I wish you didn't exist simply for violence."

"It's going to be awesome killing you just to shut you up."

Mega Man was already climbing to his knees and knew he had to act fast before time stopped again. He couldn't afford to take any more damage. "Oh no" he shouted as he looked over Flash Man's shoulder "Not you too Quick Man!"

"What!?" Flash Man spun around while shouting "Stay out of this you…you...aren't here."

That was the last thing he said before a Metal Blade caused his head to part company with his body. His remains collapsed and the head rolled until it was looking at Mega Man.

"I'm sorry"

Flash Man winced before closing his eyes. Without power flowing to his brain, the head was shutting down. Mega Man brushed himself off and began looking for a way out of the room.

* * *

"I've slowed time again, attack now!"

"I know, I know!" He hurled more Hyper Bombs shattering a few more orbs as well as opening new paths. "I'm getting pretty low on energy. Do you see anything remotely like an exit?"

"No" He looked around at the new paths and chose the one with the least visible orbs "We need to move before they shoot again."

They hurried off down a side corridor and dodged laser beams. Bomb Man hurled bombs over his shoulder as he ran leaving destruction in his wake. Sometimes he also lobbed bombs over low walls and destroyed everything on the other side. The room was quickly starting to look like a natural disaster had struck it.

"I wonder how all of these orbs coordinate their attacks?" Time Man wondered as he slowed time to escape another assault "Is there one controlling the others? They all look the same."

"Then we destroy them all! I'm so sick of this! Hyper Bomb Barrage!"

Time Man's eyes grew wide and he ducked down as his partner began exploding everything in sight with wild passion. Smoke and rubble filled the air so he couldn't see what was happening and the noise was deafening. In a few minutes the air cleared and the noise stopped. The area around them was reduced to mere ruins and no more lasers were firing at them.

"Well that was certainly reckless."

Bomb Man grinned and said "Oh really? I showed this room who's boss! Nothing's firing nor attacking right now."

"True but you could have hit me. Also I doubt you'll be much help against whatever comes next."

"Ya got me there. I'm totally pooped. Not more spark my fuse."

"Oh that's nice to hear. This should be easy"

Time Man and Bomb Man looked up to see Quick Man standing on top of a nearby pile of rubble.

* * *

Mega Man panted a bit as he slowly climbed the stairs. It seemed that he had taken more damage from his encounter with Flash Man that he'd thought. "I need energy… and to ask Dr. Light why a robot would breath heavily anyway."

He entered a corridor with no enemies around. In fact compared to the deathtraps and strangeness before, this place looked normal. If not for the skull décor and the portraits of Dr. Wily, one might have thought it was a corridor in an average office building. "He'll never be accused of being too humble, that's for sure."

Some of the doors were locked and others were simply storage or filing rooms. One of the rooms was sort of odd; it was full of star charts and files full of theories on aliens. There were also maps with odd points marked for no discernible reason. The accompanying notes were no help at all as Mega Man had no idea what refractors and reaverbots were. Mega Man made a mental not to bring this up with Dr. Light later on but to also focus on the mission at hand.

One set of double doors at the end of the corridor was unlocked and lead into a large robotics laboratory. Random parts, machines and tools littered work benches, shelves, and even the floor. The first thing Mega Man saw was a stack of Energy Tanks on a nearby table. He hesitated but figured they'd probably be safe.

"After all, Wily's robots need to recharge as well."

He drank one in just a few gulps and felt like a new bot. Now he was ready to explore the rest of the room and his eye quickly caught something along the far wall. He hurried over and screamed in horror; his eight friends from Light Labs were deactivated and standing in large capsules. "Don't worry; I'll get you guys out of there."

As he was frantically searching for a way to free them, a boomerang struck the wall near his hand. "Yeah I don't think so Blue Boy" Quick Man said from behind him.

Mega Man turned and saw the Robot Master lounging crossed legged on a table and drinking an E Tank. "Ah that hit the spot. I just got done finishing the job and you showed up sooner than expected. A little pick me up was in order."

"So this is what Flash Man meant."

"Oh yes him. I'm impressed that you dealt with him on our own this time even if was with stolen powers."

"How dare you …"

"Oh don't even finish that sentence" Quick Man said as he zoomed to Mega Man's side "No more self righteous hero talk. You've been killing off the doc's robot warriors so we've been collecting some new ones. Of course, those anti-hacking programs are a pain but Dr. Wily will get around them eventually. I think they'll do nicely once they're back on our side."

"You mean once you've reprogrammed them!"

"Well yeah, after all robots only do what they're programmed to do. Even you aren't exempt from that. My primary programming, for example, is to destroy you and I'm more than happy to do that."

"So it's time for the grand rematch then?"

"Sure but not here. I'd hate to mess up the work shop, although this so called organized chaos looks more like a mess as it is. However I digress, let's do this!"

Mega Man became aware of being carried at high speed back into the corridor, into another room, and slammed into what seemed to be the teleport pod from Wily's Factory. Mega Man and Quick Man were beamed into another part of the castle and the blue robot was deposited on the floor. He seemed to be on the edge of a large arena with Quick Man already standing in the middle.

"I thought this was appropriate for our final showdown."

"Actually it seems rather familiar. Didn't this happen last time with the brainwashed Time Man and Oil Man?"

"Well…I guess…shut up. I haven't even showed you the main attraction yet. Looky!"

He pointed up into the stands and Mega Man repositioned himself to look properly. "Senator Camp!"

Indeed the senator was present and shackled to a ornate chair high above them. "Don't just stand there gaping, Rock Man, save me!"

"Actually I'm Mega Man but my name is also Rock. They don't go together though."

"Who cares? Just get me out of here!"

"I don't think so" Quick Man said in a loud voice "He'll have to do through me first."

"Then let's do this." Mega Man said as he turned to face Quick Man and both struck battle poses.


	23. The Arena

**Two chapters in one day! What has happened to me? Whatever it is I hope it continues. Read on and enjoy, Faithful Readers!**

* * *

Chapter 22: The Arena

Quick Man made the first move. Mega Man was still in his battle pose when he felt a sharp object rip through his right arm right below the shoulder. He cried out in pain and turned to see Quick Man behind him holding a boomerang.

"Gotta be quick blue boy."

"I thought you were better than this" Camp shouted

Mega Man was about to respond when he was knocked to the ground by a blur and he was instantly surrounded by boomerang's in an outline around him. Quick Man laughed and said "I'm just getting warmed up."

Mega Man shouted "Time Stop!" and everything was quiet and still. Mega Man took the opportunity to run behind Quick Man and get his buster into position. Once time resumed, Mega Man immediately fired a Crash Bomb and attached it to Quick Man's back.

"Ahh, what happened? You used…" he screamed as the bomb exploded and he was thrown forward by the blast. Mega Man himself had to run backwards and shield himself. Quick Man struggled to his feet with a large dent in his back.

"You little…" he growled incoherently as he hurled boomerangs at Mega Man at high speed.

Mega Man protected himself with a Leaf Shield and asked "How's that, Senator Camp?"

"Impressive I'll admit but I'm still tied up. Unlike you I happen to be a vulnerable human who needs to get out of here now."

"Please just be patient" Mega Man responded as he dodged to the side as Quick Man ran at him "I'm afraid to come near because he'll follow."

"Don't want him hurt, huh?" Quick Man changed tactic and ran toward the arena wall. He vaulted over it and stopped in the stands between Mega Man and Camp. "Then I guess you won't want to fire on me now, you might hit the breakable little senator."

Camp turned white and said "You tell him Mr. Quick Man. You get that interfering pile of scrap."

"You know what Camp?" Quick Man said "You are kind of fun."

Mega Man wasn't sure what to do. He didn't have the energy to stop time again and Quick Man would surely make sure any of his shots hit the Senator. He ran through the powers he had absorbed but none of them seemed useful for this situation. He raised his buster but then lowered it again when Quick Man took a few steps closer to the senator.

"That's right. Just stand there while I kill you."

He hurled a boomerang at Mega Man who was still thinking of what to do. He screamed as it hit him square in the chest and hung there. He stumbled backwards but Quick Man said "Uh uh uh, don't move now."

"You coward, I thought you wanted to beat me" he said as he pulled the boomerang from his chest "This is a mockery of battle."

"That's a bit rich coming from the one who supposedly hates fighting. Dr. Wily has plans and he needs you dead so you can't interfere. I'll do what it takes to help him."

"And yet you killed Flash Man in order to fight me. If you really believed in killing me at any cost, you would have let him do it."

Quick Man seemed to be struggling with this logic. While he was distracted Mega Man fired a plasma shot and hit his target right in the face. Quick Man screamed and recoiled only to feel more plasma bullets strike his body.

"That's it!" Mega Man was felt like a train was slamming into him as Quick Man rammed him at full speed. "I'm going to enjoy this." He said as he kicked the fallen Mega Man and held up a boomerang.

"You know what? That should have hurt more. I think you're slowing up Quick Man."

Quick Man screamed in rage and hurled the boomerang down towards him. Mega Man was already rolling away and simultaneously firing another Crash Bomb. It attached itself to Quick Man's still outstretched hand and his eyes grew wide in horror.

"Not again" he screamed in rage as the bomb exploded and his arm was ripped apart. What was left of him landed on his backside twitching and sparking from the gaping hole in the shoulder. He was very battered and barely had any energy left. "I hate you…so…much…"

Quick Man spoke no more and the sparking was greatly reduced and slowed with each passing second. Mega Man was already back on his feet and rushing to help Camp.

"Thanks. I knew you could do it, I was rooting for you the whole time."

Mega Man simply rolled his eyes as he began breaking the shackles holding him in the chair. As he was moving to the final leg, an explosion erupted nearby from behind the chair. Camp was ok, although very shaken, while Mega Man was sent tumbling down stairs leading to that level. He regained his bearings and turned to see what had fired.

A large red machine with exposed gold machinery on the bottom was hovering over the arena. The front was a large red shield sloping downwards from top to bottom with a domed window in the front. A large blue dome was on top, a cannon mounted on the underside, and a funny little propeller at the back. As if the Dr. W symbol on the side wasn't proof enough, the man himself could be seen through the round window.

"We meet again Mega Man" Dr. Wily said through speakers on the machine "and I see that you're trying to steal my hostage."

"A lot of good he'll do you now" Mega Man returned "Your Robots Masters are defeated and Dr. Light knows the location of this place. I'm sure the authorities are coming right now."

"Ah but they won't dare touch me as long as I have him."

"Then I suppose it all comes down to this. It all depends on who defeats who."

Dr. Wily laughed hysterically "No measly Earth robot will defeat me. I've grown more powerful than ever before."

"Ok…in terms of battle banter that was certainly interesting…"

Camp cut in "Oh just get him already but do it over there away from me."

"Yes Mega Man, let's do this!"

Mega Man ran down to the edge of the arena just as the cannon on the bottom released a plasma ball. Due to the angle of the barrel, the ball arced under the front of the machine and then continued upwards. Mega Man jumped over the ball and fired upon the machine. His shots did little damage to the shield and the machine fired again. Mega Man ran to the side and the machine followed him with increasing speed. He turned and tried to fire but the machine was already upon him and firing. He rolled to the side and just barely dodged the plasma ball.

He looked up and the machine was turning to face him again. Thinking that it had served him well already, he fired a Metal Blade. The disk tore right through the lower part of the shield right below where Wily was sitting. Mega Man ran for it to try to put some distance between him and the machine but it was already following. He turned on the spot and fired more Metal Blades. They tore through the shield on the machine's front and it began to creak and groan under the strain.

"Stop that! How many of those things can you fire anyway?"

"I'm not quite sure but it seems to be an awful lot" he said with a smile

"Stupid earth robotics; they can be so unpredictable at times. No matter, I'll still destroy you and then conquer this world with a power from beyond the stars!"

"Gibberish won't save you Wily!"

Mega Man released another barrage of Metal Blades and the entire front of the machine fell to pieces. Dr. Wily was now more visible and the machinery underneath was exposed. The cannon now had more freedom to move about and Mega Man was suddenly dodging plasma balls all over the place. He ran but the machine was even faster than before.

"You may have won round one but the battle will be mine!"

Mega Man tried to fire back but it was difficult to dodge the plasma balls and attack at the same time. He tried Metal Blades and plasma shots but they had little effect. Up above, Senator Camp watched as the two of them chased each other around the arena, wearing each other down bit by bit. He kept trying to open the shackle on his right leg but he wasn't as strong as Mega Man.

"Blast it! If only I could get out of here." A stray plasma ball exploded near him and screamed "Why me?"

Mega Man had finally gained some ground and decided to try a Crash Bomb. It attached itself to the machine on the left side and exploded. The whole thing fell off kilter but managed to stay in the air. Dr. Wily fired a plasma ball and hit Mega Man squarely in the chest. He fell to the ground and had a bit of trouble getting back up.

"Tit for tat, Mega Man. You hit me and I hit you. Who will fall first?"

"We'll just see."

While he'd been lying on the ground, the machine had pulled in close over him. Before the cannon could fire, Mega Man released an Air Shooter. The tornadoes hit the underside of the machine tearing parts off as well as knocking the machine off course. Mega Man stood and took advantage of its disorientation. He plastered the machine with Crash Bombs and ripped it apart.

As the rubble fell and the dust filled the air, the area where Dr. Wily was sitting flew away. "It seems that I will have to pull out all the stops to defeat you" his voice boomed "Come and meet your death."

The air cleared and Mega Man couldn't see Dr. Wily anywhere. As he was looking around the ground began to open up beneath him. The entire arena split open and Mega Man wasn't able to climb over the wall in time.

"Not again!" he shouted as he fell into darkness.

Up in his chair, Camp was feeling close to fainting. "Help" he called out faintly. No one answered him.


	24. The Mystery of Dr Wily

Chapter 23: The Mystery of Dr. Wily

The hills surrounding Wily's Castle were dotted with official personnel, cars, and even a few tanks. Agent Stern was standing closer to the castle than anybody but wasn't proceeding any further. A short way behind him stool Dr. Light and Roll. The robot girl looked ready to go running in guns blazing but her father was showing more restraint.

"I hate to think of Rock and his friends in there."

"I hate to think of a Sentor in there" Stern growled "Do you have any idea how complicated this whole mess has been what with the army, politicians, constituents, and I don't even know who else all trying to get their two cents in? It's been a nightmare."

"I am aware of that, Agent Stern" Dr. Light said "That is precisely why Rock and the others have been doing what they have."

"What gets me is how nobody found this place. Not your robots, not the army, not even our satellites, nobody. We're only here because he was finally ready to be found."

"Indeed that is troubling. Albert is a greater genius than I ever realized. I only wish that maginificent brain wasn't so…"

"Evil!" Roll cut in

"I was thinking misguided" Dr. Light said charitably

"Whatever he is, I can't wait to put him behind bars" Agent Stern said "I just wish we could guarantee the Senator's safety, then we'd tear this place apart."

"Let's go get him then!" Roll fervently exclaimed

"Not yet" Dr. Light said "Let's give Rock a chance."

"No choice" Stern agreed reluctantly "As much as I hate playing by a mad man's rules, our hands are tied."

Roll was shaking and not only from anger "Oh Rock, please be safe."

* * *

After falling into the abyss, Mega Man quickly hit a slope and was soon deposited in a much narrower shaft. He wasn't sure how long he fell but light appeared beneath him and he rushed towards it. He landed with a crash but was unharmed.

"Now I know what Alice must have felt like. Of course, I seriously doubt this is Wonderland."

He was at the beginning of a mining tunnel that seemed to go only in one direction. Mega Man began walking down the tunnel wondering what Wily was doing down here. Could it have something to do with the odd charts and notes he'd found in the castle?

He was shaken from his thoughts as he passed under a support beam and it dropped a hot, red liquid onto him. It burned like acid and he winced as he tried to get it off of him. He gazed carefully ahead and noted that all the support structures were dripping the deadly concoction.

"I should have known the traps weren't over." His voice echoed quite loudly in the tunnel. The only other sound was the dripping of the red substance and the effect was eerie. "Then let's get this over with quickly."

He moved forward cautiously but quickly, only stopping to avoid a deadly drip. No matter how far he ran, he encountered no enemies, no traps, only red acid. He could also see some signs of digging but it was hard to say if it was Wily's doing or if he had only taken over an existing mine.

Finally, he saw a gate ahead of him. It opened as he approached but the chamber beyond was devoid of light. The gate slammed quickly and he was in complete darkness. Mega Man took a hesitant step forward and the sound echoed. "Show yourself Wily"

"I'm right here silly earthling" Dr. Wily's flying saucer flew into the room from the other side. There was nothing illuminating it except the ship itself seemed to glow. Dr. Wily floated out of the top of it and the ship vanished. Mega Man stared in shock and horror as the scientist actually hovered in the air glowing like his ship had.

"Silly little Thomas Light never discovered my secret, no one on this foolish planet did. And now you won't live to tell the tale!"

Before Mega Man could respond, Dr. Wily began to change shape. The colors of his skin, hair, and clothing all ran together and formed a shade of green with oranges, yellows, and reds mixed in. His whole form twisted and morphed until he was a bizarre green creature with a large head, glowing red eyes, exposed orange ribs, and two yellowish claws on the end of each arm.

"You're an alien!"

"Indeed" the creature responded with a deep, demonic voice "The guise of Albert Wily has served me well and will continue to do so after you are dead. Then I will conquer Earth!"

The Alien swooped down towards Mega Man and he dodged it. As it rose into the air behind him, it turned and fired a glowing bullet from its claws which brushed Mega Man's side. He screamed as the energy it released ripped through him and ate at his strength. The creature arced through the air and fired again. Mega Man dodged and fired back with his buster. The Alien stopped to take the hit and laughed.

"That tickled a little" the horrible voice intoned "Are trying to defeat me by making me laugh to death?"

"Take this then!" He fired off a Metal Blade that seemed to dissolve in a flash of light before it could strike the Alien's body.

"Oh how lethal. I'm no robot that you can hack up and rebuild. Then again, you can't hack me up at all!"

The Alien fired again and again while flying around the room. Mega Man frantically dodged, jumped, and rolled so as to not touch the Alien or its energy projectiles. He tried an Air Shooter when it was above him but it barely even wobbled as it continued to fly towards him. Atomic Fire had no affect either.

"I suppose having a tan could be nice! This shade of green isn't all that popular on my home world."

He managed to hit it with a Leaf Shield but the creature simply shrugged it off.

"Are you invincible?"

"Indeed, compared with the products and weapons of this world I am unbeatable!"

"Air Man said something like that too. I'm not giving up yet."

He didn't have any energy left to try Crash Bombs or Time Stopper but Quick Boomerang might be useful. However, the Alien was able to dodge them well. He even let one hit but it made no mark.

"Don't you get it?" the Alien growled with his deepest voice yet "You can't win!"

The Alien zoomed in quickly upon the scared robot who instinctively pulled out the only weapon left. "Bubble Lead!"

The Alien was close enough that the bubble made direct contact. The Alien flashed and light but definite smoke poured from his body. Mega Man hit the deck as the beast flew over him but he had a smile on his face.

"Water; well it's mostly water but it's your weakness."

"Fool! I have no weaknesses!"

The Alien fired again and Mega Man screamed as the projectile made contact. He rolled to the side to avoid more shots and climbed to his feet as quickly as his battered body could move. He stood and ran towards it as it swooped down. He jumped over another energy shot while firing another bubble. The Alien again flashed and smoked, this time a darker, thicker cloud.

"No weaknesses, huh?" Mega Man said as he ran to the side so as not to collide bodily with the Alien

"This cannot be! Die you pile of scrap!"

The Alien fired wildly while still swooping down towards him. Mega Man dodged the blasts as best as he could while still suffering damage. He ran towards the Alien and released another Bubble Lead. Oddly, the beast did not change its path and the bubble made a direct hit. Another flash and more smoke followed.

Suddenly, something clicked in Mega Man's head. Why was a water based attack the only thing that worked? Why did the Alien keep following the same basic attack patterns? He also thought back to his initial buster shot where the Alien arrogantly took the hit. There had been no visible or audible proof of impact. It was as if the plasma bullet had simply passed through him. His theory was crazy but it made far more sense than an alien invasion.

Ignoring the Alien as best as he could, Mega Man began firing all over the dark area itself, at the invisible walls and ceiling.

"What are you doing? Stop that!"

He dodged the next round of alien blasts and kept firing. Finally, he heard his shot connect with something directly above him. He fired again and again until something exploded.

Sparks rained down from whatever he had hit and the entire room lit up. The Alien flickered and vanished, revealing a small device that was still flying around the room following one of the patterns the Alien had used. The thing he had shot was a large upside down glass dome in the ceiling that was part of a massive hologram projector. The most interesting feature of the room was a control booth in which Dr. Wily was sitting looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Uh…pay no attention that man behind the hologram."

"You really had me going Wily. I'm embarrassed to admit it but I honestly believed you were an alien but I thought this made a bit more sense."

"I can still kill you!"

He pressed a button on the control panel and the small device fired another shot. Mega Man simply stepped to the side and fired another Bubble Lead at the device. This time, without the protection of the energy fields projected alongside the hologram, the thing exploded.

"It's over Wily"

The scientist was seething but didn't seem to have anything else to throw at Mega Man. Suddenly he slumped in his seat. "I'm sorry. Oh please get me go. I promise I can reform. Maybe you're way is the best after all."

"I'm glad to hear you say that but you still have to answer for your crimes. You'll get the help you need in jail."

"Oh well, I had to try. At least I got to see you looking so scared of my fake alien."

Mega Man rushed forward but Dr. Wily was already falling through a trap door under the control booth. It closed as Mega Man reached it but he couldn't open it again.

"Blast! He got away again." He looked at the control panel and saw a communications system. "At least I can try to radio Dr. Light and get help."

* * *

"Rock, you're alright!" Roll said as she pulled him into a tight hug.

"Of course I am…mostly."

They were standing in Wily's laboratory near the eight captured robot masters. Dr. Light had managed to use Wily's systems to teleport Mega Man out of the mines and back to this spot. All kinds of authorities were carefully combing the castle and collecting the remains of the dark Robot Masters. Of course, Senator Camp was being rescued as well.

"He didn't seem particularly grateful" Dr. Light said "Just begging to get out of here."

"Some people are like that I guess."

"True enough. Now let's see about rescuing our friends."

Mega Man smiled. He knew it would all be ok now. Dr. Wily was still out there but the day was saved for now. He could be proud of that.


	25. Epilogue

Epilogue

Rock admired the beauty of the trees as he strolled past. He was dressed in denim shorts and a blue T-shirt. Once Dr. Wily's castle had been seized and there seemed to be no sign of the mad scientist, his armor had been once again placed into storage. However, Rock wasn't sure the danger was over. In fact, he was sure that one day Dr. Wily or some other malevolent force would again threaten the peace.

His thoughts also turned to the trouble being stirred up by Senator Camp. After a short stay in the hospital, mostly for shock as Dr. Wily didn't seem to have physically abused him in any lasting way, he was back to making his anti-robot speeches. In his mind, Dr. Wily was acting in defense of his robots and thus they are the problem.

A world with life like robots simply seemed to be too much for some people, Rock reflected somewhat sadly. He himself didn't know what all of this meant for the future but he was determined to always be there to do his part to make the world a better place.

He decided that he had been out walking long enough and turned his steps toward Light Labs. Soon he was approaching the front door but noticing that the curtains were drawn in the windows and no light seemed to come from the other side. He opened the door but was quickly stunned as the lights came on a chorus yelled out "Surprise!"

Dr. Light, Roll, and the Robot Masters were all standing in the midst of balloons, streamers, and other party decorations. A table was set up with a small amount of human food and large bowls of chilled E Tank solution. Rock stared at all this in confusion.

"Um, what's going on?"

"Just a little thank you for all you've done" Guts Man said as he approached and have Rock a crushing one armed hug "If it weren't for you we'd be working for Wily again."

"Not to mention stopping Wily's plans once again" Fire Man said

"You're a hero" Roll said "You deserve a party."

"It was all their idea" Dr. Light said "Although it didn't take much to convince me."

"Guys, I'm flattered but…"

"But nothing" Bomb Man said "Let's party!"

"I didn't really stop…"

"Yeah that jerk Wily will be back someday but he's not here now" Oil Man said

"And you're getting praise from Mr. Keiji and most of the media" Time Man added "Regardless of what Senator Camp says."

"It's time for you to cut loose and enjoy it" Cut Man said as everyone groaned

"Rock my boy" Dr. Light said as he placed an affectionate arm around the robot's shoulders "I am so proud of all that you have accomplished. You should be too."

"Ok, ok guys I got it!" He said with a grin "You can stop trying to convince me. I do have condition though."

"What's that?" Roll asked

"That this be everyone's party and not just mine. We all played our parts."

"Done!" Bomb Man said on everyone's behalf "Let's boogie!"

Everyone laughed and Rock probably laughed the loudest. The time for Mega Man was over for the time being and he was going to put his moodiness to rest with him. For now, he was happy to just be Rock.

* * *

 **Th...th...th...that's all folks! Thanks for sticking with me on this journey through Mega Man 2. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do in terms of writing next but I do have plans for more Mega Man stories in the future. I'll see you then, Faithful Readers!**


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